LOS ANGELES - The final game of the 2023-24 regular season will pit No. 5 Arizona against USC at the Galen Center on Saturday night. The Wildcats have won 10 of their last 11 games overall and have already clinched the top spot in the Pac-12 Tournament next week in Las Vegas.
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. MST on ESPN with Dave Pasch and Sean Farnham on the call.
STARTING FIVE
1) Arizona's 88-65 win at UCLA on Thursday coupled with WSU's loss to UW means the Wildcats have claimed the 2024 Pac-12 Regular Season Championship outright and will be the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament. It's the 18th regular season Pac-12 title for UA.
2) Senior Caleb Love is an first team All-American candidate and favorite for Pac-12 Player of the Year. He is second in Pac-12 play in scoring (20.95) and leads the league in 3FG made per game (3.11). In nine Pac-12 road games, he's averaging 22.6 ppg and shooting 43.5% 3FG.
3) Pelle Larsson became the 55th player in Arizona history to reach 1,000 points with his 12-point effort at UCLA. He is shooting 54% from the floor and 43% on 3FG this season.
4) Since joining the Pac-12 in 1978-79, Arizona has won 15 outright Pac-12 regular season titles, the most of any team in the conference. UCLA is second with 12.
5) Arizona clinched it's first Pac-12 regular season title in 1986 at Pauley Pavilion.
SERIES VS. USC
• Arizona trails the all-time series against USC, 75-46.
• The Wildcats are 5-0 vs. USC under Tommy Lloyd.
NOTING THE WILDCATS
• Thursday's win at UCLA gives Tommy Lloyd a road win against each of the other 11 schools in the Pac-12.
• In three seasons under Lloyd, Arizona is 38-14 (.731) in road or neutral site games. That's the fourth-best winning percentage in the country.
• The Wildcats have eight wins in Quad 1 of the NET rankings. Only Houston, Purdue and UConn have more.
• Sophomore Kylan Boswell is averaging 12.9 points, 3.5 assists and shooting 47.5% from the 3-point line over the last eight games. He had career-high 19 vs. Oregon.
• According to KenPom.com, Arizona's offense ranks sixth in the country while the defense is ranked 15th. USC is ranked 4th and 107th, respectively.
• Arizona is averaging 90.3 points per game, second-most in the country (Alabama - 90.8)
• The Wildcats have 10+ offensive rebounds in 25 of 30 games, and 14 of the last 15.
• Arizona ranks second in the country in total rebounds/game (43.1) and second in rebound margin at +11.1 per game.
• The Wildcats have scored 100+ points in conference play four times this season, the most since 2003-04 (4); Overall, UA has scored 100+ points in seven games this season - the most in a season since doing it eight times in 1990-91.
• Love was also named to the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award Midseason Watch Lists and is one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award.
• Keshad Johnson was one of 10 players named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award late season watch list. He's averaging 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and shooting a career-best 36.0% from the 3-point line. Against UCLA, he had seven points and 11 rebounds, his third game this season with 10+ rebounds.
• Johnson has scored in double figures 21 out of 30 games this season at Arizona. In his four seasons, and 113 games at San Diego State, he scored in double figures 25 times. He has set single-game career highs in points, assists, steals, blocks, FGM, FGA, 3FGM, 3FGA this season with the Wildcats.
• Sophomore Jaden Bradley had 26 assists and just five turnovers over the last 10 games. He scored a career-high 21 points against Arizona State on Feb. 17 and dropped 13 points on Thursday at USC - his fifth game scoring in double figures this season. For the season, Bradley has a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (64:26). He is a candidate for Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year.
• According to EvanMiya.com, Bradley is the top rated defensive player in the Pac-12 and 10th overall in the COUNTRY. His DPBR is 4.02 suggests that for every 100 possessions on defense when he is on the court, Arizona will allow 4.02 fewer points than an average D1 player.
• Freshman guard KJ Lewis tallied a season-high 18 points, going 6 of 9 from the floor, and adding five rebounds and four assists in the win at UCLA on March 7. For the season, he is averaging 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He has also posted an assist-to-turnover of 2.6 this season, the seventh-best ratio of freshmen in the country with at least 55 assists. He is two steals shy of breaking into the Top 10 list for steals by a freshman in Arizona history.
• Motiejus Krivas is averaging 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while playing 12.7 minutes per game this season. The 7-foot-2 post player from Lithuania is also 46-60 (76.7%) at the free throw line and is shooting 56.6% from the floor. His top offensive game came on Nov. 17 when he scored 20 points against Belmont. He did not attempt a shot from the floor, but he had six rebounds and was a defensive force in the paint at UCLA on March 7.
• Tommy Lloyd is 47-3 at McKale Center as the head coach of Arizona (15-1 this year).
• Arizona has 254 steals this season, marking the third straight season with 200+ steals. The last time Arizona did that in three seasons in a row was 2013-15. To reach the top 10 in Arizona single-season steals, the Wildcats would need to get to 275.
• The Arizona offense has posted a 10-0 run 28 times this season, the sixth-most in the country. Conversely, the Arizona defense has surrendered just eight runs of 10-0 or better, per EvanMiya.com.
• The Wildcats have been ranked 55 straight weeks and 55 out of 57 weeks under head coach Tommy Lloyd. They have been in Top 10 for 44 weeks and in the Top 5 for 24 weeks.
• Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season with the Wildcats and has a record of 85-17, the second-most wins of any team in the country over that span. Lloyd is the first coach in Arizona history and the seventh in the history of the Pac-12 to win 20 or more games in each of his first three seasons.
• Under Lloyd, Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 52 out of 102 games to lead the nation.
• 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 1,886-983.
