Early games have offered good tests for UA hoops

TUCSON - For the price of $96,000 and a few beads of sweat, Northwestern State threw a zone defense plus a surprisingly deflated offense at Arizona on Sunday.

For the Wildcats, that was probably a pretty good deal.

After all, Arizona’s first four games of the season weren’t about getting on ESPN, going to an exotic location or playing another ranked team. They were about learning in real games over a 10-day period, about further integrating six newcomers into a lineup that will now head out of McKale Center to play in the Wooden Legacy event this weekend.

“Being able to shift from one game to the next and dealing with an injury (Ryan Anderson’s sprained ankle) and young players playing against different styles … I think it’s really tested us,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “It’s been good for us, and the fact that we’re 4-0, we’re excited about.”

Here are five things the Wildcats learned over their early season homestand:

1. Anderson’s pretty important

If it wasn’t enough evidence to hear about the six weeks in a row that Anderson won the Wildcats’ gold jersey for overall practice stats, he proved it publicly by averaging 13.7 rebounds and 10.3 points in UA’s first three games.

But Anderson’s absence Sunday, when he sat out because of the sprain suffered against Boise State last Thursday, may have even spoken louder about his value.

“It was a little eye-opening,” guard Gabe York said. “There’s so many different things he brings. So losing a guy who had 15 defensive rebounds in the last game, it made it a little different out there. That gives a lot of credit to Ryan and how much this team needs him to get back and produce at a high level.”

2. Zones love ’em

While some coaches might fret after a few games that they don’t know yet how their teams will fare against a zone defense, UA has the opposite problem: In part because they’re so big up front, and have relatively tame perimeter shooting threats other than York so far, everyone has been zoning them.

Still, Arizona has managed to average 79.5 points a game so far and Miller isn’t broken up about it.

“We have played against an amazing amount of zone defense,” Miller said. “A few years ago, I would have actually been very anxious about the fact that we haven’t played against man-to-man. But I think you learn over time that’s how a season works, the ebb and flow of the opponent, and right now, I look at it as a plus.

“Our players are more comfortable against the zone. They know how to get good shots against it. We have combinations of players who work well together. We have to look at that as a positive. I know man-to-man is awaiting us, and when it does, we’ll be ready.”

3. Dusan Ristic’s play is demanding more time

Extrapolate the Serbian sophomore’s current averages to 40 minutes, and (if fatigue or fouls were no factor) he’d be putting up 20 points and 19.5 rebounds a game. He is averaging only 16 minutes a game, but gets a rebound every 2.06 minutes, more even than the prolific Anderson (who gets one every 2.67 minutes)

Miller said Sunday he hasn’t been able to play Ristic and Kaleb Tarczewski together a lot — a twin-tower formation that allows Ristic more time than just in reserve behind Tarczewski — in practice because of Tarczewski’s ankle injury. But they played together in Sunday’s game and will be doing more so in the future.

“I think that gives us the best upside to utilize our depth,” Miller said. “It gives us a different look, protects us against foul trouble. ... I believe that will be a part of what we do for the remainder of the year.”

4. They’re smelling popcorn again

Because he’s convinced the Wildcats are better shooters from the field and free-throw line than they’ve shown so far — UA made just 12 of 24 from the line on Sunday — Miller brought back his “popcorn” analogy. It suggests that players sometimes just can’t shoot as well when the popcorn smell hits the floor on game nights as they can when the gym is closed.

“Guys go into a gym and it’s ’95 of 100, Coach,’ ” Miller said. “Shoot another 100. (They make) 94. Awesome. ‘Let’s see how many we can make a in a row.’ Thirty-five. Great.

“Game? 0 for 2. 2 for 4. It’s like you get that popcorn in the air ... guys have to settle into their ritual.”

Arizona is shooting 45.6 percent overall from the field, 33.8 percent from 3-point range and 68.8 percent from the free-throw line. But take York (13 of 26) out of the 3-point numbers and it drops to 25.4 percent. Take Allonzo Trier (26 of 31) out of the free-throw equation and it’s 63.8 percent.

5. Their ‘point guard’ has a 3.8-1 assist-turnover ratio

There is no need to explain what the Wildcats lost in T.J. McConnell — he’s starting for an NBA team, after all — but Arizona has managed to get a combined 35 assists to just nine turnovers from Kadeem Allen and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who are sharing the position.

“Both of them have come a long way since the beginning of practice,” York said. “Kadeem is a scoring guard, and he’s not doing a lot of that right now because he’s trying to get the team involved. He’s done a great job to get that starting point guard role, and Parker’s done a great job of getting stronger and understanding the pace of basketball. I give both of them a lot of credit.”

Thursday's game

Santa Clara vs. UA

When: 9:30 p.m.

Where: Titan Gym, Fullerton, Calif.

TV/radio: ESPN2/Arizona IMG Sports Network

UA update: The Wildcats (4-0) are coming off Sunday's 61-42 win over Northwestern State. G Gabe York (16.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg) shoots 50 percent from 3-point range. F Ryan Anderson (13.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) has been a force on the glass and provides instant offense for the Wildcats. C Kaleb Tarczewski (7.8 ppg) has had a slow start to the year.

Santa Clara update: The Broncos (0-5) opened the season with five straight losses, including a 79-61 loss to UC Irvine on Monday. They are coached by Kerry Keating, who is entering his ninth season with the team. He has seven returning players from last season's team, including one senior, and seven newcomers. G Jared Brownridge (15.4 ppg) was a preseason all-West Coast Conference selection and is leading this young squad. F Nate Kratch (8.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg) has emerged as a reliable option on the offensive and defensive ends.

– Austen Browne, azcentral sports