Arizona entered this season with its usual lofty goals, and coming off a Final Four appearance only added to the expectations. Then came a season-opening loss to UCLA in Las Vegas, the first of its kind in 20 years, and suddenly the prospect of a backslide seemed very real. The Wildcats easily won their follow up game last Thursday, beating Cal Poly by 20, but there were still notable flaws to that result.
Coach Tommy Lloyd called it an “up and down” performance. “We’re still a team trying to figure it out a little bit,” he said. “I think all these experiences are kind of stacking, and hopefully provide a great foundation of learning. How do we make that next jump and so hopefully today was a step forward.” The next opportunity to grow and improve comes Tuesday night with a home clash against in-state foe NAU.
It’s the last game before the schedule gets tougher again, starting with a trip Friday to Auburn before UConn comes to town next week. Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats face the Lumberjacks at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN+: Hustle plays Rebounding was a major strength of Arizona’s Final Four team, led by Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Tobe Awaka but spreading to everyone on the court.
That hasn’t been the case so far this season, and it’s been quite noticeable. UCLA grabbed 16 offensive boards, turning those into 20 second-chance points, while Cal Poly got 13 offensive rebounds and scored 17 points off those extra opportunities. The Wildcats have gotten 27 offensive rebounds but on both ends of the court many scrambles for a miss have not gone their way.
“We want to be a team that’s great in the hustle areas and loose balls and rebounds,” Lloyd said. “I know everyone’s focused on everything else, but I mean, loose balls and rebounding are what help you get stops and prevent the team from scoring, and they help you get extra possessions and help you score. It’s really kind of that simple sometimes.
It seems to be a little bit of a mentality, and sometimes you feel like it’s an epidemic, like we just can’t get a loose ball, so we gotta like we gotta grow there.” Effort doesn’t seem to be the issue, as evidenced by players like Caleb Holt, Ivan Kharchenkov and JJ Mandaquit diving for loose balls.
The execution just hasn’t matched to this point, and combined with other defensive breakdowns it’s made for two disappointing performances in that respect. Defensive decisions While Arizona held UCLA to 38 percent shooting, Cal Poly shot 43.9 percent and hit 16 of 37 from 3-point range.
The Mustangs took advantage of the UA’s aggressiveness on defense, particularly early in possessions, which enabled them to get a lot of open looks from the perimeter. While the Wildcats did get 14 steals in the last game they also whiffed on many other attempts that led to someone being open for a 3 or to drive to the rim.
“You always want to give your players the freedom to make decisions, and taking a risk is making a decision,” Lloyd said. “You just want there to be a little discipline attached to it, because if I have I get these guys so wound tight that they’re afraid to make a decision, now you’re conservative, it’s the opposite. So it’s just really this fine line, you got to be really calculated with the decisions you make.
What’s the old generic adage we say in sports, you gotta make a play, you know what I mean. You gotta make sure when you take that calculated risk you can make a positive play for your team otherwise it’s just fake hustle. We probably…
