Arizona Keeps Rolling at 10-0, But San Diego State Brings Grit to Saturday Showdown
Arizona basketball is off to a red-hot start-again. The Wildcats head into Saturday night’s matchup against San Diego State with a perfect 10-0 record, marking just the seventh time in program history they’ve opened a season with ten straight wins. It’s also the second time they’ve done it under head coach Tommy Lloyd, who’s quietly building a powerhouse in Tucson.
Back in Lloyd’s debut season in 2021-22, Arizona started 11-0 and finished with a 33-4 record, bowing out in the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed. This year’s group looks just as dangerous-if not more-especially after a dominant 96-62 win over Abilene Christian earlier this week. That blowout marked the Wildcats’ fifth straight win by 20 points or more, a feat they haven’t pulled off since the opening stretch of the 2010-11 season.
But this isn’t just a team beating up on weaker opponents. Half of Arizona’s wins have come against top-25 teams at the time-Florida, UCLA, UConn, Auburn, and Alabama. Four of those five are still ranked, which gives some serious weight to Arizona’s early résumé.
Coach Lloyd isn’t letting his team get too comfortable, though. He’s pushing them to look forward, not back.
“I really challenged our guys to not worry about what we had already accomplished,” Lloyd said during a recent appearance on Arizona Sports’ Wolf and Luke. “Let’s be more excited about what lies ahead. Let’s really build and galvanize who we want to be.”
That identity is starting to take shape, and one of the key pieces in that evolution is freshman guard Brayden Burries. The first-year standout has emerged as a legitimate scoring option, leading the team in points in three of the last five games. Over that stretch, he’s shooting a blistering 61.3% from the field and has hit double figures in each contest.
Burries has especially caught fire in the last two games, dropping 28 points in a marquee win over Alabama before following it up with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Abilene Christian.
Lloyd attributes Burries’ rise to the learning curve that comes with real game experience.
“You prepare as much as you want, but until you go through actual games, you don’t know where you stand,” Lloyd said. “I think it’s really important a player goes through that struggle. Anything that’s learned without struggle, there’s not much value to it.”
While Arizona is riding high, San Diego State is quietly building momentum of its own. The Aztecs come in at 6-3, having won three straight, including an 81-58 win over Air Force in their Mountain West opener. SDSU pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Falcons 48-28 after a tight first 20 minutes.
BJ Davis led the way with 19 points off the bench and dished out six assists-tying freshman Elzie Harrington for the game high. Forward Miles Heide controlled the glass, grabbing eight rebounds to lead the team for the fourth time this season.
Saturday’s game will be just the second time San Diego State has faced a ranked opponent this year. The first?
A tough 94-54 loss to then-No. 7 Michigan in Las Vegas back in November.
Head coach Brian Dutcher knows the challenge Arizona presents-and he’s not sugarcoating it.
“They’re very physical. They’re very talented.
They’re very well coached,” Dutcher said. “We have to play well to beat them.
Our intention is to go in there with a gameplan… we’ll try to see if we’re capable of doing that.”
Arizona’s size, depth, and offensive firepower make them a tough out for anyone, but San Diego State has a reputation for grinding games down and making opponents earn every bucket. If the Aztecs can dictate pace and force Arizona into a half-court battle, they’ll give themselves a shot. But if the Wildcats get out and run like they’ve been doing all season, it could be another long night for the opposition.
Saturday’s clash in Phoenix is more than just another game on the schedule-it’s a litmus test. For Arizona, it’s about staying perfect and continuing to build toward March. For San Diego State, it’s a chance to prove they can hang with the nation’s elite.