Arizona shot 34.7 percent from the field against San Diego State on Friday. The Aztecs shot 40 percent. Arizona still won the exhibition 82-67. The useful question in that score is where the Wildcats found enough extra chances to overcome their lower shooting percentage.
Arizona's official report supplies two answers. The Wildcats won the rebounding count 49-38 and committed only seven turnovers. They scored 19 second-chance points. Rebounds and ball security gave Arizona more chances to finish even when its first attempt missed. The 15-point margin came with an offense that still needs to shoot better.
A second shot carried value
Motiejus Krivas had 17 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Ivan Kharchenkov added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Their combined work on the glass helps explain the team margin without asking Caleb Holt, who scored 15, to account for the whole win. CBR's report on Holt's first Arizona exhibition described a different scoring distribution against San Francisco. San Diego State tested whether Arizona could still produce when its shooting was less cooperative. It could, on this night, because the possession work held up.
There is a limit to the inference. The official totals do not say that every rebound created a second-chance point, and a single exhibition cannot tell us how often Arizona will win the glass against Big 12 opponents. The 34.7 percent shooting figure also deserves attention. Extra shots can rescue an inefficient night, but they do not erase the reason those extra shots were needed.
The rebounding result has another relevant CBR comparison. Arizona's previous meeting with UConn turned on a 43-23 edge on the boards for last season's Wildcats. The rosters and opponents differ, so Friday is evidence about this team's early habits, not a prediction of November's UConn game. Arizona's October 23 exhibition against Eastern Washington will offer another look at whether the Wildcats can pair their work on the glass with better shooting.
