5 takeaways from UA men’s basketball’s 101-76 win over Kansas State | Michael Lev

Tommy Lloyd was in a good mood as he sat down at the podium Wednesday night at McKale Center.

The fifth-year Arizona men’s basketball coach had a dad joke locked and loaded.

“How are you guys doing?” he asked the assembled press corps. “I haven’t seen you since last year.”

Wednesday marked Arizona’s first home game of 2026. It was the UA’s first Big 12 home game of the '25-26 season. The '25-26 team still hasn’t suffered its first loss.

Arizona cruised past Kansas State 101-76, improving to 15-0 — the program’s best start since 2013-14, when the UA won its first 21 games.

What stood out in the battle of Wildcats besides K-State’s lovely lavender uniforms? Here are my top five takeaways:

1. Burries buries slow start

When I first saw Brayden Burries play, he looked like he was a step behind. I thought he needed a full year in the strength-and-conditioning program.

Wrong.

Even as he started to play better, I thought Burries was mainly a below-the-rim player. I compared him to Kyle Anderson. Smooth but not that athletic.

Also wrong.

After a tepid start to his college career, Burries has lived up to his five-star billing. He has averaged 18.8 points over the past 10 games. On Wednesday, he matched his career high with 28 points.

Burries made only 1 of 5 3-point attempts. Inside the arc, he was a perfect 11 for 11. He scored in all types of ways — drives, dunks, floaters and step-throughs.

But no play was more impressive than when Burries soared to capture an offensive rebound with one hand, a la Tetairoa McMillan, before putting the ball back up for a layup.

Below-the-rim guard? Not that athletic? Wrong and wrong.

Burries had nine rebounds in all, giving him 20 in the past two games. He also had a career-high-tying four steals. He’s one behind Jaden Bradley and Ivan Kharchenkov for the team lead.

Burries might be Arizona’s best freshman — which is really saying something because he’s teammates with Koa Peat, who will probably be a lottery pick later this year.

2. Mo better

Burries’ co-star Wednesday was center Motiejus Krivas, who had a career-high 25 points and notched the first 20-10 game of his UA career (12 rebounds).

Krivas’ teammates fed him early and often, and all elements of his vastly improved game were working. Krivas made hook shots with both hands. He drew fouls, going to the line 12 times. He made 11 of 12, upping his season free-throw percentage to 81.2% — absurdly good for a 7-foot-2 big man.

The basket every UA fan in the building liked best came with 9:43 remaining in the second half. Krivas snatched an offensive rebound, muscled through KSU’s Elias Rapieque and threw down a two-handed dunk.

Krivas has a lot of finesse to his game because he has extraordinary skill for a 7-footer. But sometimes you just want the biggest guy on the court to play bully-ball. Teammate Tobe Awaka does it all the time. Krivas is starting to discover that part of his game.

He also has become a legitimate defensive presence. Krivas had two blocks Wednesday, giving him 28 for the season. He’s averaging 3.2 blocks per 40 minutes, up from 1.9 last season and 1.7 the season before that.

After missing most of last season because of injury, Krivas is playing like the first-round pick he was projected to be in the summer of 2024.

3. Defensive impact

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Speaking of defense, I really like what Peat and Kharchenkov provide in that area.

Peat didn’t have any “stocks” (steals plus blocks) Wednesday, but he again showed that he can check players of all sizes. He can keep guards in front of him on the perimeter and bang with big men in the paint.

Peat truly can guard one through five, at least on the college level, and that defensive versatility will make him an attractive commodity come draft day. He also had 10 rebounds and four assists Wednesday while knocking down a 3-pointer for the third straight game (after going 0 for 6 in the first 12 games).

Kharchenkov is a defensive menace. He has an innate knack for reading plays and getting into passing lanes. He’s also aggressive and physical and, like Peat, capable of guarding multiple spots.

Kharchenkov has 34 stocks (28 steals, six blocks), trailing only Krivas (37) in that department. Kharchenkov had three Wednesday, offsetting a quiet night on the offensive end (four points).

Kharchenkov is capable of scoring more, and he might have a chance to do that for the 2026-27 Wildcats should he return for his sophomore season. He doesn’t need to score for this team and appears to be willing and able to be its defensive specialist.

That isn’t what you expect from most freshmen. But Arizona’s freshmen aren’t typical in any way.

4. Arc story

Arizona scored 101 points despite making only 3 of 16 3-point shots. In its two previous 100-plus-point outings, the UA made a combined 21 3-pointers.

It was fascinating to hear the two coaches talk about the importance — or irrelevance — of the 3-ball. KSU’s Jerome Tang had set goals. He wanted to take 40 and make 14. K-State ended up going 8 of 36 — and, in my estimation, settled for 3-pointers far too often.

Lloyd basically brushed off Arizona’s 3-point struggles and explained how his team makes up for it. We were told there’d be no math, but Lloyd went there anyway.

“When you make a lot of twos, they add up. When you make a lot of ones, they add up,” Lloyd said. “You get to 100 if you have enough possessions. So I don’t make anything crazy out of it.”

Arizona shot a blistering 58.5% from inside the arc. The UA got to the foul line 39 times, making 30. (KSU was 16 of 19.)

Arizona plays fast enough to rank in the top 30 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted-tempo stat, averaging 72.4 possessions per 40 minutes. The UA also gets a ton of extra looks because it’s such a strong offensive-rebounding team.

I don’t think 3-point shooting is this team’s strength by any means. But I also don’t think it’s a glaring weakness. Arizona’s 36.7% success rate from beyond the arc ranks in the middle of the pack in the Big 12.

That said, there will come a time — either later in the regular season or during the NCAA Tournament — when an opponent plays a compacted zone and forces Arizona to score from the perimeter. Then we’ll know for sure if the UA’s 3-point shooting is a problem or a nonfactor.

5. Live and in person

Wednesday marked my first in-person men’s basketball game of the season. Here are five stray observations:

– I thought the crowd was pretty good considering that students aren’t back from winter break yet, and the weather was uninviting. The announced attendance was 14,357, which is close to capacity.

– I got there early enough to watch the pre-warmup warmups. It was interesting to see who was doing what. Awaka and Peat were working on their so-called “weaknesses.” Awaka took — and made — a bunch of 3-pointers. (He’s 3 for 5 in games.) Peat camped out at the foul line. His 64.2% free-throw percentage is second-worst among rotation regulars.

– Certain things stand out in person that you don’t necessarily catch on TV. Examples: Burries’ athleticism, Krivas’ height and Kharchenkov’s intensity.

– I always enjoy watching the bench at the end of a blowout. Everyone loved it when Addison Arnold fired a no-look pass to Sidi Gueye for a dunk with 29 seconds to play, putting Arizona over the century mark.

– I appreciate Lloyd’s coaching style. He doesn’t micro-manage every possession. He was none too pleased with some of the officiating decisions — especially the foul called on Kharchenkov when KSU’s Nate Johnson’s clearly stuck his leg out on a 3-point attempt — but Lloyd never took it too far.

Photos: Arizona gets stretched in taking down Kansas State 101-76, Big 12 basketball