Washington State (14-10, 7-10) vs. Arizona (15-8, 9-8)
McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona; Thursday, 11 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Washington State seeks revenge on Arizona after dropping the first matchup in Pullman. The teams last faced each other on Jan. 2, when the Wildcats shot 37.3 percent from the field en route to a four-point victory.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Both of these teams have relied heavily on their freshmen this year. James Akinjo, Azuolas Tubelis and Bennedict Mathurin have combined to account for 50 percent of Arizona’s scoring this season and 58 percent of the team’s points over its last five games. For Washington State, Efe Abogidi, Andrej Jakimovski and Dishon Jackson have combined to score 30 percent of the team’s points this season.
CREATING OFFENSE: Noah Williams has either made or assisted on 55 percent of all Washington State field goals over the last three games. The sophomore guard has accounted for 26 field goals and 16 assists in those games.
WINNING WHEN: The Wildcats are 14-0 when holding opponents to 43.6 percent or worse from the field, and 1-8 when opponents shoot better than that. The Cougars are 10-0 when they hold opponents to 62 points or fewer and 4-10 when opponents exceed 62 points.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Cougars have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Wildcats. Arizona has 46 assists on 70 field goals (65.7 percent) across its previous three outings while Washington State has assists on 55 of 77 field goals (71.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Arizona has attempted the fifth-most free throws in all of Division I. The Wildcats have averaged 24.4 free throws per game.
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