Arizona and TCU go into Monday’s Big 12 opener at Tucson, Ariz., with the Wildcats looking to score at a fast pace and the Horned Frogs wanting to shut them down after allowing only one opponent to reach 80 points through their first 11 games.
In that game — an 83-74 loss to Vanderbilt in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 8 — TCU (7-4) lost leading scorer Frankie Collins to a season-ending broken foot.
The Horned Frogs entered Sunday tied for 30th in the nation in scoring defense at 63.8 points allowed per game.
Arizona (6-5), on the other hand, entered the day ranked 23rd nationally in scoring average at 85.5 points per game.
“I feel like we’re getting there defensively,” said TCU coach Jamie Dixon, who has 12 new players on his roster this season. “We’ve had very few mental mistakes defensively.”
North Carolina Wilmington transfer Trazarien White leads the Horned Frogs with 19 steals while trying to take on more of a scorer’s role with the absence of Collins.
White is averaging 10.5 points per game, second to Collins’ 11.2 mark.
Vasean Allette, a sophomore who transferred from Old Dominion, has replaced Collins at point guard. He has 13 steals and is averaging 10 points and 2.3 assists per game.
Arizona has struggled against top competition after starting the season ranked No. 10.
The Wildcats welcomed the nine-day Christmas break before playing TCU.
“I mean, this nonconference was rough,” sophomore guard KJ Lewis said. “I think we all need a little break and a reset.”
Arizona’s losses are to Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma, West Virginia and UCLA — teams with a combined record of 53-9.
In those games, Arizona reached 80 points once, a 103-88 loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 15.
The Wildcats averaged 70 points in those five losses. 15.5 points below their season mark.
Caleb Love leads Arizona with 15.2 points a game, but he has taken the most shots on the team by a wide margin while struggling with his percentage.
He is 61 of 152 (40.1 percent) overall and 25 of 85 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range.
The player with the second-most shots overall, Jaden Bradley, is 46 of 98 (46.9 percent).
Anthony Dell’Orso, a transfer from Campbell, has taken the second-most 3-pointers on the team, hitting 21 of 47 (44.7 percent).
–Field Level Media
