TUCSON, Ariz. - The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is ranked No. 4 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll and they will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 9:00 p.m. MST at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The game is part of a quadrupleheader at the venue call Jerry Colangelo's Hall of Fame Series Phoenix with the Arizonw women's basketball team taking on Gonzaga at 2:30 p.m. MST the same day.
STARTING FIVE
1) The Wildcats have been ranked 43 straight weeks and 43 out of 45 weeks under head coach Tommy Lloyd. They have been in Top 10 for 35 weeks and in the Top 5 for 20 weeks.
2) Arizona leads the country in rebound margin (+15.2 per game) and assists per game (21.9).
3) In four games against Top 25 teams this year, Caleb Love is averaging 19.3p, 5.0r and 3.8a.
4) Senior Keshad Johnson finished with a career-high 24 points (8-13 FG) and eight rebounds against Purdue on Saturday. He has made at least one 3FG in five straight games, the longest streak of his career (previous was 2 games). He leads the Wildcats in rebounding (7.0 rpg).
5) Since arriving at Arizona prior to the 2021-22 season, Tommy Lloyd is 14-5 against AP Top 25 teams, the best winning percentage (.737) in the country.
SERIES VS. ALABAMA
• Alabama leads the all-time series, 3-1.
• The teams played a home-and-home series in 2017 (Tucson) and 2018 (Tuscaloosa). The Wildcats won in Tucson, 88-82, and the Tide won in Tuscaloosa, 76-73.
• Arizona lost to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament in 1985 and 1990.
NOTING THE WILDCATS
• Sophomore guard Kylan Boswell leads the Wildcats with 41 assists and 21 3FG made on the season. He had made at least two 3FG in each game this season until going 0-4 vs. Purdue. He is still shooting 47.7% on the year and 42.1% for his career from distance.
• Senior center Oumar Ballo is shooting 68.0% from the floor this season, which ranks fifth nationally. He is also the Arizona career FG% leader at 64.5%.
• According to EvanMiya.com, the Wildcats' starting lineup the fifth-best lineup in the country when adding offensive and defensive efficiency together.
• Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season with the Wildcats and has a record of 69-12, the third-most wins of any team in the country over that span.
• Under Lloyd, Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 45 out of 81 games to lead the nation.
• Arizona's all-time record when playing at No. 1 in the AP Poll is 53-11.
• Arizona is the only Pac-12 team still undefeated and one of 7 undefeated teams in the country (through games played 12/17)
• Arizona is outscoring its opponents, 416-242, in the paint through nine games.
• Freshman Motiejus Krivas scored 20 points off the bench against Belmont, the first Arizona post player to score 20 off the bench since Oumar Ballo did it on Jan. 20, 2022 at Stanford.
• The preseason All Pac-12 teams featured four Wildcats: senior Oumar Ballo (first team), senior Caleb Love (second), sophomore Kylan Boswell (second) and senior Pelle Larson (honorable mention).
• Ballo was named to the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, Love is on the preseason list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Keshad Johnson is on the preseason list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
• The 2023-24 season marks the 119th year of men's basketball for the University of Arizona, and the Wildcats have an all-time record of 1,870-978.
LAST TIME IN PHOENIX, NOT TEMPE
The last time Arizona played a game in Phoenix that wasn't at Arizona State was Dec. 5, 2017 against Texas A&M at what was then Talking Stick Arena. It was the Wildcats that upset the seventh-ranked Aggies, 67-64 that day behind 13 points, 10 rebounds from Deandre Ayton.
MAGIC NUMBER: 90
Arizona is 25-0 under Tommy Lloyd when scoring at least 90 points in a game.
BALANCE
All five starters are averaging between 11.7 and 15.8 points per game this season. At least five players have scored in double figures in seven of nine games.
WORLDWIDE WILDCATS
Eight different countries, including the United States, are represented on Arizona's 18-man roster. The countries include Serbia, Sweden, Mali, Estonia, Lithuania, England, Spain and the United States.
NOTING DUKE
The 78-73 win at then No. 2 Duke on Nov. 10 was Arizona's first true road win against a team ranked in the top 2 since defeating No. 1 Stanford in 2001.
BIG TV NUMBERS
On Nov. 23, a record-setting television crowd watched Arizona defeat Michigan State on FOX on Thanksgiving Day. A total of 5.18 million people tuned in, the most watched regular season college basketball game on any network since 2008.
BEING NUMBER ONE
• Prior to this season, the last time Arizona was No. 1 in the AP Poll was Jan. 27, 2014.
• Dating back to the 1949-50 season, Arizona has been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 39 times. That total ranks ninth in NCAA history.
• Arizona's record as No. 1 in the country is 53-11 all-time.
• It is the seventh different season that the Wildcats have made it to No. 1 in the AP poll.
2023-24 - 2 weeks
2013-14 - 8 weeks (Elite Eight)
2002-03 - 13 weeks (Elite Eight)
2000-01 - 3 weeks (National Runner-Up)
1997-98 - 3 weeks (Elite Eight)
1988-89 - 4 weeks (Sweet 16)
1987-88 - 6 weeks (Final Four)
• Arizona is the only Pac-12 team to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll during the Pac-12 era (since 2011-12).
LLOYD LEADS THE WAY
Head coach Tommy Lloyd's record is 69-12 in his third season as a head coach. After setting the NCAA record for most wins in his first two seasons (61), the focus turns to the three-year record. The NCAA record for most wins through three seasons is 89 wins by Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens.
THINGS YOU 'LOVE' TO SEE
Senior guard Caleb Love arrived at Arizona this summer after three seasons at North Carolina. He has fit right in with Arizona's free flowing offense.
The St. Louis, Mo. native leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.8) and is second on the team in assists (39) and has a career-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.6. He is 29 of 54 inside the 3-point line, which is also a career-best.
In four games this year vs. Top 25 opponents, Love is averaging 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 41.9% from the floor. In the last two games, he has scored 20 points and 29 points against Wisconsin and Purdue, respectively.
Comparatively, in 24 games vs. Top 25 opponents while at UNC, Love averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and shot 32.9% from the floor.
KYLAN KONTINUES
After finishing the 2022-23 season on a tear from the 3-point line, Kylan Boswell picked right up where he left off in Arizona's season opener with a career-high 18 points against Morgan State. His line at No. 2 Duke was equally impressive, tying for game-high honors with eight rebounds and five assists to go with his 12 points and just one turnover.
For the season, he is shooting 50.0% percent from the floor (36-72) and 52.5% from the 3-point line (21-40). He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after the first week of the season. He will be looking to rebound after a sub-par shooting performance against Purdue, going 3 of 9 from the floor and 0 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Boswell also spent time over the summer playing for the USA Basketball U19 team at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary. He was a starter for five of the seven games and averaged 6.4 points and 2.3 assists as Team USA went 5-2 at the event.
BALLO'S BUSINESS
Redshirt senior Oumar Ballo is back for his third year in Tucson and has been a consistent force for Arizona all season. He has scored in double figures every game and grabbed at least five rebounds in seven of nine games while shooting over 50% every game. His 68.0% shooting from the floor for the year ranks fifth nationally.
His career FG% currently ranks as the best in Arizona history (.644).
He shot 64.7% from the floor during the 2022-23 season, which ranked eighth nationally and is the second-best single-season percentage in Arizona history.
In his last 10 games against Top 25 opponents, Ballo is averaging 14.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and shooting 64.1% from the floor.
SWEDISH ARMY KNIFE
Senior wing Pelle Larsson is a jack of all trades for the Wildcats while experiencing a career year offensively. He's averaging a career-best 12.0 points and shooting a career-best 62.3% from the floor He also has a better than 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (30-14). Against Wisconsin, he scored a career-high 21 points on 6 of 6 shooting from the field, including 4 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Always willing to be the first one on the floor for a loose ball, Larsson also leads the Wildcats on the defensive end with the ability to effectively guard one through four on the court and is the team leader in charges drawn.
BRADLEY IN FROM BAMA
Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley transferred to Arizona over the offseason after spending his freshman season at the University of Alabama.
Coming off a 13-point effort against UT Arlington, Bradley was 2 of 2 from the field against Michigan State, but drilled a clutch 17-foot jumper from the top of the key with 1:23 left to extend UA's lead to five. Coach Lloyd also noted after the game that Bradley's defense on MSU's Tyson Walker was exceptional. He's a steady guard that has excelled at his role and picking his spots when to be aggressive at the offensive end.
With the Crimson Tide, he appeared in 37 games and made 22 starts, averaging 6.4 points and 3.1 assists per game with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Arizona was heavily involved in his initial recruitment out of high school before he eventually chose Alabama. A native of Rochester, N.Y., he was a McDonald's All-American as a senior at IMG Academy.
MT. KRIVAS
Motiejus Krivas stands 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and has been a force with a soft touch around the rim from the moment he arrived in Tucson. He broke out with 20 points and nine rebounds against Belmont. He is shooting 58.1% from the field, 72.4% from the free throw line and leads the team with 10 blocked shots.
In the Summer of 2023, Krivas, at the age of 18, played for Lithuania at the FIBA U20 European Championships in Crete. In the seven games, he averaged 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.0 rebounds.
LOOK OUT FOR LEWIS
Freshman KJ Lewis was a Top 100 recruit in his class, but Coach Lloyd has commented that he may have been underrated. He won the dunk contest at the Red-Blue Showcase and averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in two games on the Summer Tour.
Through eight games, his hustle and energy on both ends of the floor has been evident. He's averaging 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists in just 18 minutes per game. He is 19 of 36 (.528) from the floor and 13 of 16 at the free throw line. His activity on the defensive end is a trademark of his, evidenced by his five steals in the opener against Morgan State and three more against Colgate.
