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Arizona Wildcats basketball: Seniors, freshmen continue to shine in 93-50 win

UA improved to 4-0 on Wednesday night with yet another dominating performance.

By Scott Coleman
Christian Petersen

The Arizona Wildcats continued to look like one of the best teams in the nation against Northern Arizona on Thursday, cruising to a 93-50 win. The 'Cats are yet to truly be tested this season, but it's hard to not get excited about the past couple of weeks. Here are a few things that stood out from UA's win over NAU.

  • There are few teams in the country that pass the ball better than Arizona does. They entered Wednesday averaging nearly 19 assists a game, ranking the Wildcats seventh in the nation. Against the Lumberjacks, Arizona dished out 22 assists on 30 made attempts. That's impressive.
  • Nick Johnson is having one heck of a season so far. He's been overlooked in favor of the seniors and highly-touted freshmen, but Johnson stuffed the stat sheet yet again with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds. He's the glue guy on this team and will be counted on all season long.
  • Brandon Ashley continues to be the most well-rounded freshman for UA. He entered Wednesday as the team's leading scorer, but had just two points against NAU. Despite his offensive struggles, Ashley battled on the boards and led all players with 11 rebounds. He blocked three shots and even dished out three assists.
  • Northern Arizona isn't a very good team, but the Wildcats' defensive effort was awfully impressive. NAU shot just 36 percent from the field and hit five of their 17 attempts from behind the arc. Given the size and strength Arizona has in the paint, the Lumberjacks often shied away from attacking the rim. Through four games, Arizona is surrendering an average of just 61.5 points to their opponents.
The schedule is about to get much tougher for Arizona. After playing four games in 17 days to begin the season, UA will play four games in the next 11 days, and could play as many as eight in the next four weeks. A road trip to Texas Tech will tell us a lot about what this team is made of mentally as they step away from the comforts of home for the first time all year.