No. 12 Arizona gets another shot at building momentum Tuesday night when the Wildcats welcome NAU to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and Arizona enters at 1-1 looking for its first back-to-back wins of the season. NAU comes in at 0-2.
The matchup brings together two programs with a long history. Arizona and NAU first played in February 1919, a meeting the Lumberjacks won.
Since then, the Wildcats have taken control of the series, leading 103-26 and riding a 37-game winning streak in the matchup. The teams last met in November, when Arizona rolled to an 84-49 win.
Arizona’s young talent is starting to flash, and freshman Caleb Holt heads into this one on the heels of his best performance yet. Against California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, the No. 3 recruit in the country put up 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals while shooting 8-for-13 from the field.
Another freshman, Caleb Holmes, also gave Arizona a boost off the bench. He finished that game with 13 points and three rebounds, hitting 5 of 9 shots.
The Wildcats also got a huge night from Ivan Kharchankov and Motiejus Krivas, who combined for 46 points against the Mustangs. Krivas set a new career high with 30 points, and both veterans will be expected to help set the tone early against NAU.
For the Lumberjacks, the offense runs through sophomore guard Chris Komin. He opened the season with 24 points against UNLV, knocking down 57.1% of his attempts from three-point range, then followed that with 21 points on 50% shooting against New Mexico.
NAU also has a frontcourt piece to watch in 6-foot-8 freshman Lucas Toukam. He scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in the opener before fouling out, then added 10 points and seven rebounds against UNM while battling foul trouble again with four fouls.
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The matchup also brings a few layers beyond the ranking and the reputation. Utahs offense has enough playmakers to stress a defense, while its own game plan on the other side figures to be shaped by how it wants to deal with Arizonas passing attack. Injury updates add another wrinkle, and the Utes enter the week with some uncertainty around key personnel even as they continue to look like a group built for late-season pressure. [Read more 🡒]
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Arizona, meanwhile, is coming off a one-point escape against TCU and gets a chance to measure itself against one of the country's most complete teams. The Wildcats have enough offensive punch to make this interesting, but Utah's balance and defensive consistency create a tough ask, especially with the Utes still carrying the look of a team that has not yet found a reason to blink. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona's First Week Already Changed The Big 12 Conversation
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Northern Arizona comes next on Tuesday, which gives Arizona a chance to start steadying things before the schedule tightens again with Auburn and UConn looming. Around the Big 12, the early results have already been uneven enough to make every ranking feel temporary, with Texas Tech, BYU, Iowa State, TCU, Baylor and West Virginia all helping shape a conference race that still looks wide open. For Arizona, the next few games will say a lot about whether that opening loss was just a stumble or the start of a longer climb back. [Read more 🡒]