California Baptist faces tough test vs No. 8 Arizona

Published Dec. 17, 2021 6:30 a.m. ET

Associated Press

California Baptist (8-2) vs. No. 8 Arizona (10-0)

McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 8 Arizona presents a tough challenge for California Baptist. California Baptist has played a ranked team only once this season and lost. Arizona is looking to extend its current 10-game winning streak.

STEPPING UP: The Lancers are led by Taran Armstrong and Daniel Akin. Taran Armstrong has averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.3 assists while Akin has put up 13.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Wildcats have been led by sophomores Bennedict Mathurin and Azuolas Tubelis. Mathurin has accounted for 17.7 points and 6.9 rebounds while Tubelis has averaged 15.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per outing.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Taran Armstrong has either made or assisted on 51 percent of all California Baptist field goals over the last three games. The freshman guard has 11 field goals and 30 assists in those games.

STREAK STATS: Arizona has won its last six home games, scoring an average of 97 points while giving up 57.8.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Lancers have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Wildcats. Arizona has 58 assists on 109 field goals (53.2 percent) across its past three outings while California Baptist has assists on 55 of 81 field goals (67.9 percent) during its past three games.

STINGY DEFENSE: Arizona has held opposing teams to 36.4 percent shooting from the field this year, the lowest percentage among all Division I teams.

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