After losing 2 straight for the first time under Lloyd, Wildcats ponder issues

They never lost a game in November, suggesting an effective combination of preseason preparation, bonding and role acceptance. They beat ranked teams such as Michigan (2021) and Michigan State (2023) while winning the 2022 Maui Invitational title.

Also, the Wildcats never lost two games in a row, no matter what time of the season, suggesting a combination of resiliency, toughness and pride. Last season, they bounced back from an upset at Oregon State by handing Oregon a nine-point loss, and avenged a dreary regular-season finale at USC by clubbing the Trojans 70-49 five days later in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Both of those trends disappeared over just eight days this month. The Wildcats lost at Wisconsin 103-88 on Nov. 15, and followed it with a potentially more dispiriting 69-55 loss to No. 12 Duke on Friday at McKale Center.

“I appreciate all the reminders, things that have never happened here. That’s great,” Lloyd said, cracking a smile when asked about all that history. “Listen, I’m humble enough to know that it’s not always going to go easy, and I’ve always felt myself that the harder things you get, the better, because I think I’m built for it. And I’m going to hang with my team.”

Lloyd hung with the Wildcats over the past week, and he had reason to feel it would lead to something different Friday.

Arizona’s loss at Wisconsin could have been dismissed as a weird one-off, a game in which 63 fouls were called, with the Badgers hitting 41 of 47 free throws, adjusting better in their homecourt environment to the way the game was being called.

This time, Arizona was playing at peak McKale, with a rowdy full house booing the Blue Devils upon entry, most everyone wearing white, and former standout players lined the south baseline. Besides, while perennially loaded Duke was starting three projected NBA lottery picks, all three were freshmen who had yet to play in such an adverse environment.

The Wildcats had a full week to prepare for them after returning from Wisconsin, too.

“There was a sense of urgency,” Lloyd said, “and we felt like we were addressing things.”

They have more to address now. While tying their lowest-ever scoring output under Lloyd – the same amount they managed in a humbling 59-55 loss to Princeton in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament — the Wildcats shot just 39.6% from the field, hit only 6 of 23 3-pointers, made it to the free throw line just 11 times — and were outrebounded 43-30.

How? Why? Lloyd and Duke coach Jon Scheyer alike credited Duke’s defense, which featured, among others, rugged freshman 7-footer Khaman Maluach, versatile forward Cooper Flagg and Aussie guard Tyrese Proctor, who played a starring role in helping quiet preseason all-American guard Caleb Love.

“Love’s a big-time player but Tyrese is as good of a defender on the perimeter ... he’s just a pest,” Scheyer said. “He’s so disciplined with what he does.”

Love finished with eight points, four rebounds and four assists while making just 1 of 9 3-pointers. He’s averaging 10.3 points with 21.4% 3-point shooting over Arizona’s first four games.

“He’s not playing great right now. I’ve just got to be 100% honest,” Lloyd said. “But it’s my job to hang with him because this isn’t the NBA. There aren’t trades. You’re not releasing guys, and I know this: Caleb’s had so much success in college basketball, if we hang with him, it’s the right thing to do, and we’ll be rewarded for that.”

Together, the Blue Devils disrupted Arizona’s normally free-flowing offense and especially made it difficult for the Wildcats to score inside. Duke’s lineup, the biggest nationally according to Kenpom rankings that take all of a team’s player heights and adjust by minutes played, was also agile enough to switch defensively at just about any position and trap effectively.

They made “us get the ball out our hands quick,” UA guard KJ Lewis said. “ I think we’ve got to do a better job moving the ball, being strong with the ball and just finding different ways to be effective in the offense.”

Lewis (12 points) and point guard Jaden Bradley (20) were the only Wildcats to score in double figures, even though both suffered cramps in the second half, while Arizona received only 11 combined points from its four primary post players: Motiejus Krivas (5), Trey Townsend (4), Henri Veesaar (2) and Tobe Awaka (0).

Lloyd said he might have made a mistake in starting Krivas over Awaka, thinking it might be best to pair Krivas with Townsend and Awaka with Veesaar.

Over the Wildcats’ first three games, Awaka had averaged a double-double as the starting center while Krivas was on a minutes limit because of a preseason foot injury, and Lloyd said not starting Awaka this time had nothing to do with how he was playing.

“Maybe it wasn’t the night to do it, but I was just thinking about pairing those bigs,” Lloyd said. That was “my overall overriding thought. So I’ll figure that out.”

Lloyd doesn’t have much time to adjust anything at the moment. The Wildcats (2-2) will leave after practice on Sunday for the Bahamas, where they’ll play three games over just three days starting Wednesday against Davidson (4-0) in the Battle 4 Atlantis. That’s the tournament where they lost all three games they played under then-coach Sean Miller in 2017-18.

But maybe it’s just as well. Atlantis’ hectic pace won’t allow time to brood endlessly over a loss or soak up a win too long, a problem Lloyd and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas agreed on during a pregame conversation Friday.

“Jay Bilas had the best quote of all,” Lloyd said after Friday’s game. “He told me he wishes that college basketball had a little bit more of the NBA feel to it, where you play these big games, you win them, or you lose them, and you get on to the next one.

“In college basketball, it’s not like that. When you’re a program like Duke or Arizona and you lose a game, I mean, panic ensues. I love playing in these. ... I wish we had more opportunities to do this stuff. If you’re fearful of losing, you’re never going to take the opportunity for a great environment like we had tonight.”

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