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Benn Mathurin has rightly collected the lion’s share of credit for Arizona’s second round victory over TCU, but let’s start with the player who kept Arizona in the game early on the offensive side of the court.
Has there ever been a player improve more over the course of 12 months than 7-1 junior Christian Koloko?
From developing into arguably the best defensive player in college basketball to keeping Arizona in the game offensively during a slow fist half, it’s impossible to overstate just how much he meant to this team.
When and if Koloko leaves he departs with a legacy of hard work, dominant defensive, drastically improved offense and a megawatt smile.
Sometimes the shots just don’t fall, but nothing from Benn Mathurin was disappointing in this game. Yes, the threes weren’t falling early in the game but the shots he was getting were to his speed.
In the second half you saw a man embrace the moment and will Arizona to a victory that looked impossible at times.
Mathurin’s last college games are in front of us but what a privilege it has been to watch.
Sophomore Kerr Kriisa’s return from a sprained ankle appeared to have a disastrous impact on the boxscore. But the 1-10 shooting was something that was overlooked by the fact that he was out there and playing when it mattered. It’s says here some of those shots fall next game.
It wasn’t all good as sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis has a lot to figure out. There is no doubt he’s an all conference caliber player but there are far too many times when he appears disinterested and that manifests itself in two of the most destructive ways possible: turning the ball over and missing easy baskets.
Lloyd absolutely made the right decision to bench him for almost the entirety of the second half.
Dalen Terry certainly isn’t a great shooter but is one of the most opportunistic shooters you’ll find as evidenced by his game trying three in the second half.
This was the first real win or go home test of the Tommy Lloyd era and he handled it with flying colors. He never once changed his regular season demeanor but more importantly, with Azuolas Teublis’s mind obviously in other places, Lloyd made the decision to bench his all conference player. And while Arizona could have lost, it was the right decision. Tubelis didn’t come to play. and there were too many games this season where this occurred.
Every round is a new season, so hopefully Tubelis gets right for Houston. Arizona will need him.
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