Three Wildcats to neutralize for No. 14 Indiana basketball vs. No. 10 Arizona
No. 14 Indiana basketball travels to Las Vegas to take on No. 10 Arizona on Saturday, December 10th and needs to neutralize multiple players to come home with a win.
The Wildcats have had quite the season up to this point, with one blip against Utah on December 1. Prior to that, Arizona had won six straight games, including big wins in the Maui Invitational over then-ranked No. 17 San Diego State and then-ranked No. 10 Creighton.
Aside from the three Arizona players that I’ve gone in-depth about below, there are others that the Hoosiers need to limit enough to keep themselves within striking distance to win this game. Courtney Ramey (#0) is a transfer from Texas that has made an immediate impact, averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 made threes on 50.0 percent shooting. Along with Ramey, Pelle Larsson (#3) is another guard that can make an impact rebounding the ball and defensively.
Here are my three key Wildcats that the Hoosiers need to neutralize to take down their first top-10 team at a neutral site since defeating No. 3 Kansas, 103-99, on November 11, 2016:
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Three Wildcats to neutralize for #14 Indiana basketball vs. #10 Arizona
3. Kerr Kriisa – Junior Guard – #25
2022-23 stats: 8 GP, 31.0 MIN, 12.8 PPG, 7.8 AST, 2.5 TOV, 2.3 3PM, 40.9 3P%
Prior to his last two games against conference teams, Kriisa was averaging 15.3 points, 7.5 assists, and 3.4 turnovers on 51.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In his last two games, the junior guard has managed to average just 5.0 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.5 turnovers on 0-for-9 shooting from three.
Kriisa has five 10-point games this season for the Wildcats and since last season, Arizona is 19-1 (.950) when Kriisa manages to get into double digits for scoring — with their lone loss coming against then-ranked No. 19 Tennessee on December 22, 2021.
It’s fair to say that the biggest difference-maker in this game will be Kriisa, because of his impact on the game and the performance and energy that is taken from his play for the Wildcats. If Kriisa is knocking down shots and playing with energy, the Hoosiers might be in trouble.