PALO ALTO, Calif. - The Arizona men's basketball team (10-2, 1-0 Pac-12) wraps up the 2023 calendar year with a Sunday matinee at Maples Pavilion against the Stanford Cardinal (5-6, 0-1). The game will be televised on Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton on the call.
STARTING FIVE
1) The Wildcats have been ranked 44 straight weeks and 44 out of 47 weeks under head coach Tommy Lloyd. They have been in Top 10 for 36 weeks and in the Top 5 for 21 weeks.
2) Senior center Oumar Ballo is this week's Pac-12 Player of the Week and was one of five players nationally named Player of the Week by the USBWA. Over his last 3 games - all double-doubles, Ballo is averaging 15.3 pts, 14.7 rebs and shooting 51.7% from the floor.
3) Arizona leads the country in scoring (93.2) and rebound margin (+14.2)
4) Over the last five games, Caleb Love is averaging 22.0 pts, 5.8 rebs and shooting 43.6% overall and 38.9% from the 3-point line.
5) The Arizona offense has recorded a 10-0 run 17 times through 12 games this season, tied with Houston and Miami (FL) for the most in the country.
SERIES VS. STANFORD
• Arizona leads the all-time series, 72-32
• After Arizona won 20 straight meetings from 2008 through 2020, Stanford has won three of the last seven, including last year in Maples Pavilion, 88-79.
NOTING THE WILDCATS
• In Friday's win at Cal, Arizona shot a season-high 59.3% from the floor, it's best percentage in a Pac-12 road game since 2018.
• Pelle Larsson is averaging a career-best 12.6 points and shooting 54.5% from the 3-point line this season (12 of 22). He's scored in double figures 11 of 12 games and is second on the team with 44 assists after matching his career high with 7 assists at Cal.
• Fifth year forward - and Oakland native - Keshad Johnson saw his streak of games with at least one 3FG made end at seven after going 0 of 3 at Cal. He is averaging a career-best 12.3 ppg and a career-best 6.4 rpg.
• Motiejus Krivas scored 18 points in 18 minutes of action at Cal on Friday, two points shy of his season high in scoring.
• Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season with the Wildcats and has a record of 71-13, the third-most wins of any team in the country over that span.
• Under Lloyd, Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 45 out of 84 games to lead the nation.
• As of Dec. 27, Arizona had played five of the top 11 most efficient offenses in the country and the Wildcats defensive efficiency still ranks second in the country. The Wildcats are the only team in the country to rank in the Top 10 of KenPom.com's offensive (6) AND defensive (2) efficiency ratings.
• 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 1,872-979.
THIS AND THAT
The 85 FGA against Florida Atlantic were the most by an Arizona team since attempting 91 shots against Northern Arizona on 11/24/2003
Kylan Boswell had five steals in back-to-back games against Alabama and FAU, becoming the first Wildcat since Jason Terry in 1999 to do that.
Oumar Ballo had 21 rebounds against FAU, the most by a Wildcat since Jordan Hill grabbed 22 in 2008.
MAGIC NUMBER: 90
Arizona is 27-1 under Tommy Lloyd when scoring at least 90 points in a game. The lone loss was a 96-95 double overtime defeat against FAU on Dec. 23, 2023.
BALLO FREE THROWS
Over the last three games, Oumar Ballo is 16 of 28 (.571) at the free throw line, averaging nearly 10 attempts per game in that span. In the first seven games of the year, Ballo was 9 of 24 (.375).
BOOST FROM THE BENCH
Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis have made instant impact over the last four games when coming off the bench.
Bradley is a combined +46 against Purdue, Alabama, FAU and at Cal. In those games, he is averaging 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Lewis is +34 in that same span and is averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
BALANCE
All five starters are averaging between 11.4 and 16.9points per game this season. At least five players have scored in double figures in nine of 12 games.
