The Arizona Wildcats have won their last six games and are now ranked eighth in the nation with their 11-1 record. his win streak has been impressive, as Arizona has beaten some good teams, but what makes it even more impressive is the fact that it has done it without starting center Kaleb Tarczewski. Tarczewski is currently out with a leg injury and is reportedly still without a timetable for a return, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Tarczewski was injured in a game at the end of November, and at the time it was believed to just be a sprained ankle. Arizona later came to find out that the injury was more serious, as he had a stress reaction and strained muscle in his left foot. After the severity of the injury was revealed, Tarczewski was expected to miss four to six weeks, but that is looking very unlikely right now, as the four-week mark is coming up very soon.
Head coach Sean Miller said that Tarczewski is still without a timetable and remains out indefinitely as the 7- footer hasn't recovered as fast as the team had hoped. The good news for the Wildcats is that they can afford to let their center take his time because they have been able to fill the void so far, as they are 6-1 since Tarczewski was injured.
In the five games he played in this season, Tarczewski was averaging 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The rebounds would be a career high for Tarczewski, a senior. Since Tarczewski has been out, Miller has decided to put sophomore Dusan Ristic in the starting lineup to replace him, and he has played very well, averaging 8.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while making 54 percent of his field goals.
Arizona has one more game on Tuesday night before it starts Pac-12 play on Jan. 3 against Arizona State, and at this point it seems like Tarczewski is destined to miss at least a couple of league games. This Arizona team is talented and should still be able to compete for a league title without its tarting center, but it still hopes to get him back sooner rather than later because he is a big part of the team.
