The Arizona Wildcats (10-9, 4-3 Pac 10) return home for the first
time in 18 days to host the Stanford Cardinal (10-9, 4-3 Pac 10)
Thursday in the McKale Center at 8pm ET on FCS Pacific. The
Wildcats and Cardinal are two of five Pac-10 teams currently tied
for second place in the conference standings.
In conference play, the Wildcats are shooting 45.3 percent
from the field, averaging 72.1 points per game and posting a +5.1
rebound advantage, while limiting opponents to 41 percent shooting
and 64.6 points per game. The Wildcats are 9-3 this season when
scoring 70 or more points. Arizona currently leads the Pac-10 with
a .739 (340-of-460) free throw percentage.
Derrick Williams continues to show himself as one of the
premier freshmen in the country. Not only does he lead the Wildcats
in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and field goal
percentage (.589/96-of-163), but each of those figures has risen in
Pac-10 play: 16.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg and a .643 (36-of-56) field goal
percentage. He joins Washington’s Quincy Pondexter as the
only Pac-10 players to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding
and field goal percentage.
In conference play, Stanford averages 66.7 points per game,
shooting 43 percent from the field and 66.6 percent from the line.
Cardinal opponents average 68.4 points per game; however Stanford
posts a +1.0 rebound advantage and has a +1.15 turnover margin
advantage on opponents. The Cardinals are 0-6 away from Maples
Pavilion. Individually, two Stanford players average in double
figures, led by senior Landry Fields’ 21.8 ppg figure while
sophomore Jeremy Green leads the conference in scoring in
conference play averaging nearly 20 points per game (17.5 ppg
overall).
Landry Fields was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for January
18-24 in which he averaged 24.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game
while also coming up with six assists, four blocks and three steals
in leading Stanford to its fifth straight home win. Fields also
leads Stanford in rebounding (8.7 rpg), steals (39) and blocks
(13). He ranks second in the Pac-10 in scoring, rebounding and
steals.
Tonight’s game marks the 79th meeting of the two
schools with Arizona holding a 49-29 series advantage. Arizona has
won seven of the last 11 in the series, including the last, a
101-87 triumph in Tucson on March 7, 2009. All time, Arizona is
26-8 in series games played in Tucson.
With each team having 19 games under its belt, the numbers
show that Arizona and Stanford are pretty similar, and not just in
the win/loss department. Statistically, both teams average a bit
over 72 points per game, allow close to 70 points per game and own
around a 44% field goal percentage. The two biggest differences
might be that Arizona shoots better from the line (.739-.666),
while Stanford averages nearly two more offensive rebounds per game
(11.4-9.5).
