The Arizona Wildcats are on a roll right now, winning seven of their last ten games, including three in a row against foes ranked in the upper-tier of the Pac-12. This is certainly no time for the UA to take its foot off the gas pedal, especially with a showdown looming next week with the Washington schools, but the team should get somewhat of a break with the Utah Utes coming into the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Utes lost their best player and starting point guard, Josh Watkins, a month ago when he was kicked off the team for violating team rules. They have lost seven of their eight games since the dismissal, including a 26-point rout from Arizona, and fell to Arizona St. on Thursday evening.
Jason Washburn is the leading scorer for Utah and averages a little more than 10 points and six rebounds a game. Chris Hines, Cedric Martin and Dijon Farr are all capable of scoring a handful of points, but do not expect anything more than that. This is a team that has averaged 53 points in their last five games.
Arizona should have this game wrapped up by early in the second half, if not earlier. Utah suffered a huge blow when they lost Watkins for the season and scoring the basketball has been a continual struggle ever since. I expect the UA to win by 20+ points on Saturday.
Tipoff from McKale Center will come at noon. FOX Sports Arizona will have the TV coverage. Fans can find the game on the radio as well, with 1290 AM The Source calling the action.