News and notes from Arizonaβs 104-50 over Texas-Rio Grande Valley Friday night at McKale Center:
Tommy Lloyd keeps it casual
Arizona fans hold elite expectations for the Wildcats on a yearly basis, but if thereβs something to not expect, itβs first-year head coach Tommy Bahama β er, Tommy Lloyd β wearing three-piece suits on the sidelines. The same goes for his staff members.
βIβve always wondered why we wore suits, but you didnβt want to be that guy standing out,β Lloyd said on Monday before Arizonaβs season opener.
During Arizonaβs win over UTRGV on Friday, Lloyd wore a white quarter-zipped pullover, dark gray slacks and navy blue Air Force 1 shoes. UA assistants TJ Benson and Rem Bakamus replicated Lloydβs look, while Steve Robinson, Jack Murphy, Riccardo Fois, Ken Nakagawa and graduate assistants donned white polos.
The quarter-zip look was Lloydβs preferred choice, but it was unavailable for the season-opening win over Northern Arizona on Tuesday.
βThey call him EMOY, right, but I donβt know if heβs EMOY right now because we donβt have any long-sleeved pullovers,β Lloyd joked about UA equipment manager Brian Brigger, who is often referred to as the Equipment Manager of the Year. βI feel like Iβm gonna be coaching naked (Tuesday) coaching in a polo. I prefer to have a long sleeve because sometimes it gets a little cold on the bench.β
Lloyd also jokingly changed Briggerβs title to EMOLY β Equipment Manager of Last Year.
βWe added the βLβ in there, so letβs see if he could drop the βL.β Heβs working,β Lloyd said.
Keeping it 100
Arizona scored more than 100 points for the first time since the Wildcats beat Long Beach State 104-67 on Nov. 24, 2019.
Bennedict Mathurin splashes first 3s of season
Arizona second-year star wing Bennedict Mathurin made his first 3-pointers of the season in the second half against UTRGV. Mathurin finished the night with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting and 2-for-6 from beyond the arc. Mathurinβs 3s were the first heβs made since Arizonaβs season finale at Oregon in March.
The big number 1,098
Miles between UTRGV and Tucson, which is close to a 16-hour drive. The closest airport to Edinburg, Texas, the location of UTRGVβs campus, is McAllen Airport in McAllen, Texas.
Another big number 60
Games it took for Arizona center Christian Koloko to tab his first double-double as a Wildcat. Koloko finished Friday night with a career-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 11 rebounds, while also recording five blocks and two assists in 19 minutes.
βI told you guys this all along, heβs really good,β Lloyd said of Koloko. βHeβs a really good player and I think heβs a force. He impacts the game every possession on both ends, and I think heβs going to gain more and more confidence as the season goes on.β
Koloko is the first Wildcat since Jordan Hill in 2008 to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a game, according to Pac-12 Network research manager Greg Mroz. Hill had 25 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks against San Diego State during the 2008-09 season.
βI felt good,β Koloko said. βJust coming in, I knew I had to be ready because (UTRGV) was undersized, so all the bigs had to be ready and I think thatβs what we did tonight, and we did a good job.β
Whatβs a vaquero?
UTRGVβs mascot, the Vaquero, is one of five Division I colleges that uses a Spanish name for their mascot, joining the Cal State Northridge Matadors, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, San Diego Toreros and New Mexico Lobos.
A vaquero is a cowboy or cattle driver. The school earned its nickname in 2014, when UT-Pan American and UTRGV merged schools.