Arizona doesn’t get much time to sit with Monday’s 84-75 loss to UCLA. The Wildcats are back at McKale Center on Thursday night, and the home opener against Cal Poly gives Tommy Lloyd’s team a quick chance to clean up what went wrong in Las Vegas.
The first order of business is getting Caleb Holt more involved. The 5-star freshman had a muted debut against UCLA, finishing with seven points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
He hit 2 of 3 two-point tries and all three free throws, but went 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in a night when Arizona shot just 7 for 30 from three. Lloyd made it clear during the exhibition season that he doesn’t want to rein Holt in, and this matchup looks like the right spot to let the 6-foot-5 guard attack freely in transition and in half-court possessions when plays break down.
Arizona needs Holt creating his own shot, and building that confidence matters with Auburn coming up next week.
The Wildcats also need to rediscover the disruptive defense that showed up in the exhibition season. Against UCLA, that pressure never really materialized.
Arizona managed only three steals, while the Bruins turned it over just seven times. Cal Poly should present a much different challenge in that department.
The Mustangs coughed it up 25 times Monday against D2 Cal State San Marcos, which also recorded 15 steals. If that kind of ball security shows up again Thursday, Arizona could pile up more than 20 takeaways and turn them into easy transition points.
Then there’s the bench. Arizona used four reserves against UCLA, and they combined for just four points - three from JJ Mandaquit and one from Cameron Holmes.
Starter Bryce James also finished scoreless in six minutes, leaving the Wildcats with very little production beyond the top of the rotation. A fast start against Cal Poly would give Mandaquit, Holmes, Maxsim Brnovic, Ugnius Jarusevicius and Evan Otten a real chance to log meaningful minutes in front of the home crowd, which could matter once the schedule tightens up in mid-November with Auburn on Nov. 13 and UConn on Nov.
Cal Poly enters at 1-0 after beating D2 Cal State San Marcos, 78-62, and is ranked No. 159 at KenPom. The Mustangs were picked to finish sixth in the Big West preseason poll.
Arizona and Cal Poly tip at 8:30 MST on Thursday, with the game set to broadcast on TruTV.
In Other News...
Tommy Lloyd Suddenly Faces A Troubling Arizona Recruiting Question
Arizonas season-opening loss to UCLA was a reminder that Tommy Lloyds program still has plenty to sort through on the court, but the concern is starting to spill into the recruiting trail as well. The Wildcats have had a difficult run trying to land top frontcourt talent in the 2027 class, and a string of misses has left the staff with less margin for error than it would prefer.
The latest setback came with another highly regarded big man choosing elsewhere, adding to the sense that Arizona is fighting uphill in that part of the cycle. For now, the Wildcats still have one uncommitted 2027 recruit on the board in Adan Diggs, which makes the next stretch important as Lloyd and his staff try to avoid letting a promising class slip further out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky May Have Finally Found The Shooter Mark Pope Needed
Milan Momcilovics first night in a Kentucky uniform gave Mark Pope exactly the kind of perimeter pop he has been chasing. The former Iowa State forward, who spent three seasons with the Cyclones, stepped into his Wildcats debut against Manhattan and immediately looked comfortable, finishing with 24 points and five rebounds while hitting 8 of 12 shots overall.
The most encouraging part for Kentucky was how naturally Momcilovic fit as a floor-spacer, giving the offense another threat defenses have to account for beyond the arc. Pope has already made it clear he wants that part of Momcilovics game to become a bigger feature of the attack, and if this debut was any indication, the Wildcats may have found a shooter who can change the spacing of the whole lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Just Got A Playoff Reality Check At The Worst Time
Arizonas place in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season offers a clear snapshot of where the program stands in November: respectable, relevant and still very much in the mix. At 6-2, the Wildcats have put themselves in position to matter in a crowded Big 12 field, and the leagues showing in the top 25 only reinforces how little margin for error there is from here.
The schedule ahead does not exactly ease the pressure, either. TCU, Utah, Kansas State and Arizona State all remain on deck, and each one carries the kind of weight that can either strengthen Arizonas case or leave it scrambling to recover. For a team trying to turn a strong start into something more lasting, the next few weeks will say plenty about whether this is a breakthrough season or just the beginning of one. [Read more 🡒]