Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) - Eyeing up their 20th win of the season, the seventh-ranked Arizona Wildcats welcome the Stanford Cardinal to the McKale Center for a Pac-12 showdown on Wednesday.
Sean Miller's Wildcats come into this contest with a three-game win streak in tow, including last weekend's 79-65 victory at Washington State. With the win, Arizona moved to 7-2 in-conference and is tied with Oregon atop the Pac-12 standings.
Johnny Dawkins' Cardinal already have a big win over one of the conference elite, routing Oregon to close out January in spectacular fashion, 76-52. The team added its third straight win on Sunday with an 81-73 win over Oregon State. The victory pushed Stanford to 14-8 on the year and 5-4 in league play.
This marks the 84th meeting in this series. Arizona has won 12 of the last 16 meetings to open up a 54-29 all-time lead. The Wildcats are 28-8 in games played in Tucson.
A balanced scoring effort led by Chasson Randle's 20 points helped push Stanford past Oregon State this past weekend. Randle was 6-of-11 from the floor and drained 4-of-6 3-point attempts in the win. Josh Huestis had a huge game as well, posting a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Dwight Powell and John Gage were heard from also, finishing with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Offensive proficiency hasn't been the norm in the Cardinal attack this year. Stanford is shooting a rather modest .411 from the floor and netting 70.3 ppg. Powell and Huestis are a potent one-two punch in the frontcourt though. Powell currently leads the team in scoring at 14.4 ppg and ranks second in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Huestis is averaging a near double-double with 9.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Randle adds perimeter balance at 14.2 ppg and leads the team with 62 assists and 33 steals.
Arizona has had great success at both ends of the floor and as a result boasts of a +13.1 scoring margin, averaging 74.8 ppg, while allowing just 61.7. The Wildcats also hold a +7.7 rebounding margin and are holding opponents under 40 percent shooting (.398). Three of the team's five starters are averaging double-digit points, led by Mark Lyons' 14.9 ppg. Solomon Hill and Nick Johnson round out the top scoring threats for UA with 13.6 and 13.0 ppg, respectively.
Lyons and Hill powered the Wildcats to a road sweep in the Pacific Northwest last week, combining for 38 points against the Cougars in Pullman. Lyons scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half, while Hill got all 18 of his in the first half. Kaleb Tarczewski and Brandon Ashley tacked on 10 points apiece, as Arizona knocked down 11 3-pointers against Washington State, led by Hill's six treys.
