Tommy Lloyd gets one more exhibition look before Arizona’s season opener, and the Wildcats should have a few real questions answered by the time Eastern Washington walks off the floor Friday night.
Arizona faces Dan Monson’s Eagles on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7:00 PM MST on ESPN+, with the regular season set to open Monday, Nov. 2, against UCLA in Las Vegas. The Wildcats are coming off exhibition wins over San Francisco and San Diego State, two games that gave them a little bit of everything.
One of the biggest things to watch is Cameron Holmes. The freshman is expected to play a meaningful role in Arizona’s rotation, and his tools are obvious: he’s a versatile defender and a high-level athlete.
What hasn’t shown up yet is much offense. Holmes logged 20 minutes against USF and finished with six points, five rebounds, and three assists on 2-6 shooting, then followed that with three points, four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 17 minutes against SDSU.
Those weren’t bad outings by any means, but this is a good chance for him to be more aggressive and show he can bring more than defense and rebounding to the wing spot.
The other area worth tracking is the three-point shot. Arizona didn’t lean on it heavily last season, but when the Wildcats did let it fly, they were efficient.
Through two exhibition games, that edge hasn’t been there. They hit 6-18 against San Francisco, then followed with a rough 9-34 effort against San Diego State, including 3-17 in the first half.
That leaves Arizona at 15-52, or 28.8%, from deep in exhibition play. Exhibition numbers always come with some asterisk attached, but Friday is still a reasonable spot to ask for a cleaner shooting night against a lighter opponent.
Then there’s the frontcourt picture, which is being shaped by the uncertainty around RJ Godfrey’s eligibility. Arizona is still hoping the Clemson transfer will be cleared for this season, but with 11 days left before the opener, the Wildcats have to keep building as if he won’t be available.
That’s where Maksim Brnovic enters the conversation. The freshman from Montenegro flashed against San Diego State, putting up 10 points and four rebounds on 4-6 shooting, including 2-3 from three, in 18 minutes.
Against Eastern Washington, he’ll have another chance to carve out a real role while competing with Nebraska transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius and Idaho State transfer Evan Otten for minutes alongside Mo Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov in the frontcourt.
In Other News...
Arizonas Final Tuneup Could Answer A Few Early Tommy Lloyd Questions
Arizonas last exhibition before the games count arrives Wednesday night at McKale Center, where No. 5-ranked Arizona gets one more look against Eastern Washington. For Tommy Lloyd, it is the kind of late-October test that can help settle a few early questions before the season opener, especially with a roster still sorting out roles and rhythm after the previous tuneup.
The matchup also carries a little history, even if the stakes are mostly about polishing the details. Arizona and Eastern Washington have met twice before, and the Wildcats will again be trying to use the exhibition to tighten things up against a familiar opponent while getting a clearer read on key pieces from both teams. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Basketball Faces A New Pressure Tommy Lloyd Can't Ignore
Money has become a defining part of roster building in college basketball, and Arizona is projected to be in the middle of that conversation again for 2026-27. A CBS Sports report says the Wildcats are expected to devote roughly $15 million to $17.5 million to their mens basketball roster, a figure that would put them above the Big 12 average while still short of the sports biggest spenders.
The bracket matters because this is where the gap between ambition and expectation starts to show up in a very public way. Arizona would land in the third tier of spending, alongside programs such as Gonzaga, Houston and Michigan State, and behind a large group of schools operating at the top of the market. For Tommy Lloyd, that means the financial race around the program is only getting tighter, with the kind of pressure that does not always show up in the box score. [Read more 🡒]