If anyone out East tuned in late Wednesday night to FS1’s national broadcast from McKale Center, curious as to why the nation’s No. 1-ranked Arizona men's basketball team so dislikes taking 3-pointers, they probably know now.
Why take a 3-pointer when you can just zip the ball up and inside to 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas for a shot that few humans can alter? Or let forward Koa Peat slide and muscle his way inside? Or cash in on second-chance opportunities created by rebounding whiz Tobe Awaka?
Arizona guard Brayden Burries puts down a dunk in front of Kansas State center Dorin Buca during the second half of their Big 12 game, Jan. 7, 2026, at McKale Center.
Why take a 3-pointer when you have Brayden Burries, Jaden Bradley and Ivan Kharchenkov racing their way to the basket for high-percentage layups?
Why take a 3-pointer when you can take 20 more free throws than your opponent?
Why take a 3-pointer when, sometimes, they just aren’t falling anyway?
All of the above happened Wednesday when Arizona beat Kansas State 101-76 in UA's Big 12 home opener: Krivas poured in a career-high 25 points, Burries scored 25 of his career-high-tying 28 points from inside the arc, while Arizona made 30 of 39 free throws — and fouled out three players from K-State, which was 16 of 19 from the line.
Also, in what became largely irrelevant because of all of the above, Arizona made just 3 of 16 3-pointers. That was their worst 3-point shooting percentage effort since the Wildcats put up an also irrelevant 2-for-11 effort in a 37-point win over Norfolk State on Nov. 29.
The Wildcats, who rank sixth-to-last nationally in the amount of times they shoot 3s relative to all shots, don’t live by the 3-pointer.
Which means, at least as they have proven so far during their 15-0 start, they don’t die by it either.
“When you have guys like Mo and Tobe and Koa (Peat) down there, you just keep feeding them,” Burries said. “And when you're open, just gotta keep having confidence to shoot it.”
So Burries did both on Wednesday. While mostly barreling into the basket for layups or dunks, Burries also took four errant 3-pointers — and broke through when his fifth 3-pointer went in to give UA a 72-57 lead with 11:33 left.
Coming off a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 3 at Utah, Burries has averaged 19.6 points in seven games dating back to his 28-point breakout game against Alabama in Birmingham on Dec. 13.
"He obviously played a great game today, as well as I thought a lot of other guys played really well," Lloyd said.
After Burries hit his 3, K-State’s Nate Johnson responded with a 3-pointer of his own to cut UA’s lead to 12, but the pattern was already set: The Wildcats didn't really didn’t need 3s in this one, especially with how the whistle was blowing.
Lloyd said he kept looking at the foul count, thinking his team shouldn't settle offensively but instead keep pushing inside and take advantage of opportunities to pick up more fouls and free throws.
Meanwhile, K-State coach Jerome Tang was trying to take advantage of Arizona’s woeful 3-point shooting but couldn’t in part because of his team's 29 fouls.
"They only hit one 3 that during a stretch that mattered, so our goal was to pack it in," Tang said. "But they were still able to throw that thing in to Krivas. We didn't do a very good job of shrinking it and making those passes inside harder. The other thing is to cut down on our fouling. They shot (39) free throws and we were fouling. We have to clean that up."
K-State also had bad timing: Krivas had just seven points and four rebounds in UA’s win at Utah on Jan. 3, irrelevant to Arizona's 19-point win but not irrelevant to his psyche.
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) gets it from all sides while driving between Kansas State guard Mobi Ikegwuruka (14), left, and guard Nate Johnson (34) during the second half of their Big 12 game, Jan. 7, 2026, in Tucson.
“I think I just had not the greatest game” at Utah, Krivas said. “I try to respond and come out from the start playing really physical.”
Krivas wound up with his third double-double of the season while hitting 11 of 12 free throws, even though Lloyd wondered if he might have been able to get to the line even more.
“I didn't realize he had drawn nine fouls. I thought there could have been a few more, but I can't get greedy either,” Lloyd said. “I think he's going to continue to learn how to play against that physicality and finish some of those shots quicker.
“But Mo’s a really good player, and he's so reliable at the free-throw line. He’s going to continue to learn how to play against that physicality and finish some of those shots quicker.”
So with Krivas going nuts, Awaka pulling down 11 rebounds, and Peat also collecting a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Arizona's perimeter didn't need to be a focus.
As Tang noted, UA's two other made 3s didn’t actually arrive until the game was essentially over, with Jaden Bradley and Peat both hitting 3s in the final five minutes, when UA led by no fewer than 21 points.
Arizona forward Koa Peat, left, forward Ivan Kharchenkov, center, and guard Brayden Burries, right, team up for a video after their 101-76 win over Kansas State in the Big 12, Jan. 7, 2026, in Tucson.
When it was over, that unusual stat could be updated: Arizona now ranks 360th out of 365 Division I teams in percentage of 3s attempted to all field goals attempted (just 28.5%), and the Wildcats rank just 356th in the percentage of points earned from 3s (just 21.4%).
When Arizona does take 3s, either selectively or when defenses are forcing them to, the Wildcats are pretty good. They hit them at a respectable 36.7% rate that ranks 53rd nationally.
But when they don't take them — or hit them — that's been OK, too.
