TUCSON - Coming off a 47-point win over Colorado on Thursday, the tenth-ranked Arizona Wildcats welcome the Utah Utes to the McKale Center on Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Network, with Daron Sutton and Matt Muehlebach on the call. Utah lost at Arizona State on Thursday to end an eight-game winning streak.
STARTING FIVE
1) Pelle Larsson needs 7 points tonight to reach 1,000 for his college career (Utah + Arizona)
2) Oumar Ballo needs 17 points to reach 1,000 for his college career (Gonzaga + Arizona)
3) Arizona's 97-50 win marked the largest margin of victory for the Wildcats in a Pac-12 game since a 51-point win at Oregon State in 1997.
4) After the 47-point win over Colorado on Thursday, Arizona is 14-0 in games following a loss under Tommy Lloyd, winning by an average of 22.5 ppg.
5) Kylan Boswell was 4 of 6 from the 3-point line against Colorado on Thursday after going 6 of 27 from distance over the previous five games. Despite the recent slump, Boswell is still shooting 41.9% from the 3-point line this season.
SERIES VS. UTAH
• Arizona leads the all-time series, 38-32
• The Wildcats have won the last 12 games against Utah in Tucson
• The Ute's last win in Tucson was 12/6/1986 by a score of 68-67
NOTING THE WILDCATS
• The 50 points allowed to Colorado are the fewest Arizona has allowed to a Pac-12 opponent in the Lloyd Era, and the second fewest overall (45 vs. North Dakota State in 2021).
• The 97 points scored vs. Colorado are the most in a home conference game under Tommy Lloyd and the most since 99 vs. ASU on Feb. 17, 2016.
• The Arizona offense has recorded a 10-0 run 19 times through 14 games this season, the second-most in the country. The Wildcats have only allowed opponents to go on two runs of 10-0 or better this season.
• The Wildcats have been ranked 45 straight weeks and 45 out of 48 weeks under head coach Tommy Lloyd. They have been in Top 10 for 37 weeks and in the Top 5 for 21 weeks.
• In the 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 12.5 points and shooting 53.8% from the 3-point line this season (14 of 26). He's scored in double figures 12 of 14 games and has 18 assists to just three turnovers in the last five games.
• Fifth year forward Keshad Johnson has made 12 3FG this season, surpassing the 11 he made in 39 games last year at San Diego State. He also has 24 assists this year, two shy of his total at SDSU a season ago.
• Motiejus Krivas has turned it on in Pac-12 play, averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 88.2% (15 of 17) from the floor. He's also 7 of 7 at the charity stripe in league play. He had 18 points at Cal and 15 points against Colorado.
• Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season with the Wildcats and has a record of 72-14, the third-most wins of any team in the country over that span.
• Under Lloyd, Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 45 out of 86 games to lead the nation.
• 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 1,873-980.
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 28-1 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.
BALANCE
All five starters are averaging between 11.1 and 17.1 points per game this season. At least five players have scored in double figures in nine of 13 games.
LLOYD LEADS THE WAY
Head coach Tommy Lloyd's record is 72-14 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.
