The eighth-ranked Arizona Wildcats won their sixth consecutive game at McKale Center Saturday, dispatching Colorado, 78-68.
Here are five takeaways from the UA’s latest triumph:
1. Notable visitors
When Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd walked into the team’s locker room after the game, former Wildcats Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry, Christian Koloko and Justin Kier were gathered and talking to their former teammates.
“It was great,” said Arizona center Oumar Ballo. “Those are my brothers for life and I’m glad they have a couple days off and get time to come see us. It means a lot for us, it means a lot for the program and I’m super happy they’re here.”
The four departures that led Arizona to a Sweet 16 in Lloyd’s first season last year trekked to Tucson during the NBA All-Star break.
Former Arizona players Dalen Terry, left, Justin Kier, Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko have court-side seats for the Wildcats game against Colorado at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 18, 2023.
“It feels like they should still be playing for us because they’re obviously young enough to play for us,” Lloyd said. “We had so much fun with them and they’re so easy to be around.”
Mathurin (Indiana Pacers), Terry (Chicago Bulls) and Koloko (Toronto Raptors) are close to wrapping up their first season in the NBA, while Kier has impressed with the G League’s Austin Spurs; he posted his first triple-double earlier this month.
Mathurin, Koloko and Kier donned designer eyewear while sitting courtside Saturday.
“‘Man, the lights at McKale must be pretty bright for all these sunglasses I’m seeing,’” Lloyd joked.
NBA players and former Wildcats Josh Green and Zeke Nnaji were also in Tucson this week for their Ring of Honor inductions. Other recognizable visitors include U.S. Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug, ex-NBA player and Gonzaga standout Ronny Turiaf, Dallas Mavericks forwards Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber and former UA walk-on Kory Jones, who’s now a basketball operations assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) wags a finger after blocking a shot by Colorado guard Nique Clifford (32) in the first half their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 18, 2023.
2. Turnovers, points in the paint
It’s rare for any team to out-score the Wildcats in the paint this season, but in Arizona’s loss last weekend to Stanford, the Cardinal had a 42-24 advantage over in paint points.
On the flip side, in the home stand against Utah and Colorado, Arizona outscored the Pac-12’s mountain schools by a combined 78-34 in the paint.
“The biggest thing is that we’re setting our screens harder and our guards are starting to be more aggressive,” Arizona forward Cedric Henderson said.
Before Henderson could finish his statement, Ballo jokingly interrupted him.
“Come on, man. It’s because our bigs are finishing. Come on,” Ballo said with a smile.
Then Henderson added how “the Stanford loss showed us that when our bigs aren’t in, or even when they are, we need to drive to the rim.
“We can’t just rely on throwing the ball over the top every time in the post. We have to figure out ways to play around them and figure out ways to help them out,” Henderson added. “Pelle (Larsson) just coming in and driving hard once or twice and getting a foul just makes the defense different and we get different looks.”
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson signifies picking up a two-shot foul after being hammered on a drive to the bucket against Colorado at McKale Center on Feb. 18, 2023.
Arizona’s outing on Saturday was also bookended by several turnovers, including five in the first five minutes, which allowed Colorado to jump out to a 18-6 lead, and three in the last three minutes. Arizona, which has the best assists per turnover mark (1.46) in the Pac-12, committed 14 turnovers that led to 24 CU points.
“The early ones that seem crazy to me,” Lloyd said. “I don’t know what you attribute them to. Casualness, maybe. We’ll take a look at them and we’ll evaluate them. We had some turnovers early; we had some turnovers late. And not that you ever want to turn the ball over, but I think you definitely don’t want to turn it over early and you don’t want to turn it over late.”
3. Henderson ‘more comfortable’ in starting role
Henderson shouldered the responsibility of providing a scoring punch to Arizona’s sloppy start on Saturday. Henderson’s 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting is the most he’s scored in a game since Arizona’s win over Montana State in December.
Henderson and Ballo led the team with 11 points each at halftime.
Arizona guard Cedric Henderson Jr. drops a dunk in the middle of the Colorado defense during the second half in their Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Feb. 18, 2023.
“Honestly, I was just getting mad. We turned the ball over five times. We weren’t locked in — clearly — to start the game off,” Henderson said. “Something had to give. Someone had to give a spark and I thought maybe I could try it, so I tried it. Then after that, we all got locked in and picked it up.”
Since Henderson was bumped to the starting lineup 10 games ago, he’s averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds, while former starter Larsson is posting 10.6 points and 3.1 assists per game as the Wildcats’ sixth man. Larsson has tallied five straight double-figure scoring games. Against Colorado, Larsson finished with 11 points on just two field-goal attempts; he was 9-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Said Henderson of the lineup change: “Actually it felt more comfortable, because I’ve started everywhere I’ve been in college, so it was more difficult for me to come off the bench and have the same energy.”
4. Mild play from Azuolas Tubelis could tighten up Pac-12 POY race
Arizona star forward Azuolas Tubelis has asserted himself as the favorite to receive Pac-12 Player of the Year honors this season, but it’s not guaranteed like some would think.
Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) muscles his way into the lane through Colorado guard Luke O'Brien (0) in the first half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 18, 2023.
Tubelis, who normally plays closer to 30 minutes per contest, has only played an average of 19.7 minutes the last three games, mostly due to foul trouble. Tubelis also committed seven turnovers against Colorado and Utah, the most he’s had during a true Pac-12 series this season.
Tubelis sitting in games is “not a part of the plan,” according to Lloyd.
“Part of it is maybe bad luck, the other part is some self-inflicted wounds by him,” Lloyd said. “He’s gotta be smarter and he’s gotta play better. And he’s had an amazing year; I think he’s the conference MVP, but that’ll be determined. We’re still trying to fight out the season. … Hopefully he’ll figure it out moving forward.”
As for the Pac-12 Player of the Year race, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. is averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds, while Tubelis is averaging 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. The last three games, Jaquez is averaging 23.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game; Tubelis is averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd calls out onto the court as his Wildcats take on Colorado in the first half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 18, 2023.
5. Ignoring bracketology
Lloyd eschews the buzz around “bracketology” now that the regular season is in the final stretch. He even said bracket predictions are “kinda meaningless.”
So, Lloyd wasn’t tuned into the NCAA Selection Committee’s bracket reveal show on Saturday, when Arizona was named as the would-be sixth overall seed and the second-seeded team in the West Region (based on the Wildcats’ current resume). Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke and his predecessor, Greg Byrne, are on the selection committee this year.
“I didn’t feel like we played like (a No. 2 seed) tonight, so we obviously have to play better,” Lloyd said.
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting better. If you stub your toe, you’re going to be quick to fall. Let’s hope we can learn from some of these games and continue to get better, and come Selection Sunday we’ll see where we end up.”
Oumar Ballo recorded 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Cedric Henderson had 15 points, in No. 8 Arizona's 78-68 win over Colorado on Saturday at McKale Center.
