Arizona left Auburn with a win that looked anything but routine.
Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats held off the Tigers 80-69 on Friday night to improve to 3-1, surviving a game that stayed tense deep into the second half. Arizona had control for roughly 20 straight minutes spanning the first and second halves, but Auburn kept hanging around, helped by enough hot shooting to stay in the hunt until the finish.
Caleb Holt was the difference-maker. The freshman, back in his home state of Alabama, turned in his best performance yet with 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
He had already been struggling from long range this season, entering the night 1-11 from three, but that changed in a hurry. Holt knocked down 4-6 from beyond the arc and finished as the Wildcats’ top scorer in a night that also featured highlight-reel defense and transition play.
Arizona shot 6-14 from three overall, and Holt’s comfort from the perimeter stood out as the game slowed down for him.
The Wildcats also leaned heavily on their starting group, which now includes JJ Mandaquit instead of Bryce James. That five accounted for 76 of Arizona’s 80 points, a sign of how much the first unit carried the load in a physical road setting.
Auburn made life difficult around the rim. One of the more unusual wrinkles of the night was the Tigers’ shot-blocking barrage, with Arizona repeatedly getting downhill only to see attempts erased at the basket.
Narcisse Ngoy, Auburn’s 7-2, 280-pound center, swatted five shots in the first half alone, part of nine blocks in the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers ended the night with 13 blocks.
Arizona’s defense was strong overall, limiting Auburn to 69 points and just 12-35 shooting inside the arc, or 34.2 percent. But the Tigers stayed alive by making threes, hitting 11 of 31 from deep for 35 percent.
Thomas Dowd led that charge, going 4-5 from three and finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds. Adam Olsen added 3-8 from the bench, including a pair of clutch threes late that got the crowd at the Jungle fired up.
Now the Wildcats turn quickly to a much bigger test. Arizona returns home to face Dan Hurley and No. 4 UConn on Wednesday, Nov. 18, with tipoff set for 7:00 PM MST on FS1.
In Other News...
Kentucky Escape Exposed Warning Signs Arizona Fans Will Notice
No. 24 Kentucky had enough offense to survive Northern Arizona, but not enough control to make the finish comfortable, escaping with a 78-77 win after building a 13-point lead and then watching the Lumberjacks chip away possession by possession. Kentucky shot 56.4% and handed out 21 assists, yet the bigger story was how quickly the game tightened once Northern Arizona started finding rhythm from deep in the second half.
For Arizona fans, the warning signs are easy to spot in a game like this: a talented opponent can still be vulnerable if it gives up extra chances and lets a smaller team hang around. Northern Arizona outrebounded Kentucky 32-20 and kept the pressure on late, turning what looked like a routine result into a tense finish that left the No. 24 team needing one last answer. [Read more 🡒]
Tommy Lloyd Just Created A New Arizona Rotation Debate
Tommy Lloyd shook up Arizonas starting lineup against Auburn, inserting JJ Mandaquit for Bryce James and giving the Wildcats a different look right away. The new first five carried most of the scoring load, while the bench offered only limited help offensively, leaving the rotation conversation very much alive as Arizona continues to sort out its early-season pieces.
Lloyd said the move was tied to the matchup and the way he wanted the game to play out, but it also underscored a larger issue for Arizona: the second unit still has work to do. With UConn next on the schedule, the Wildcats are already facing a decision point on how much they can lean on the starters and how quickly the bench can grow into a more reliable part of the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Arizonas Biggest Home Test Just Got More Complicated Late
Arizonas home date with Utah already carried plenty of weight, and now it comes with a later start and a little more uncertainty around the edges. The Wildcats are set to welcome the Utes in a matchup that had to be pushed back to an 8:30 MST kickoff because of nationwide flying issues, adding another wrinkle to a game that was never going to feel routine.
Arizona has been perfect at home, but this is the kind of test that can clarify where a team really stands. Utah arrives with a strong defensive identity under Morgan Scalley after Kyle Whittinghams departure, and the Wildcats will get this one before closing out the regular season with Kansas State and Arizona State, which only raises the stakes for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]