During pretty much every minute that an Arizona men's basketball game has remained in contention so far this season, coach Tommy Lloyd has stuck firmly with the same five starters and the same three key reserves.
Lloyd didn’t play forward Sidi Gueye or guard Evan Nelson at all against Florida, UCLA or UConn, and played them only briefly in the Wildcats’ decisive wins against Auburn and Alabama earlier this month
But he said he did have a conversation with Gueye that could change his formula slightly in the months ahead.
Arizona Wildcats forward Sidi Gueye during a game against the Denver Pioneers, Nov. 24, 2025, in Tucson.
“Before the Alabama game, I grabbed Sidi, and I told him I want him to be ready to play in a high-level game in four weeks,” Lloyd said Tuesday, after UA beat Abilene Christian 96-62 at McKale Center. “Sidi has gotten off to a slower start here for a variety of reasons, but Sidi is really talented, he's a great kid, and he can catch up fast, so I want to get him in catch-up mode right now — physically, with his strength, his conditioning, his IQ and understanding of what we're trying to do.
“You can see his ability out there and some flashes, but there's obviously more we need to get to.”
Those flashes — and those limitations — were all visible to the McKale Center crowd and ESPN+ audience in a span of just 27 seconds Tuesday.
With seven minutes left, Gueye lept to block a layup from Abilene Christian’s Rich Smith and immediately raced on UA’s fast break, caught an alley-oop pass from Brayden Burries and dunked it emphatically.
Arizona forward Sidi Gueye (15) dunks the ball in the second half against Abilene Christian at McKale Center, Dec. 16, 2025.
But on ACU’s ensuing possession, Gueye lunged to intercept a pass to ACU’s Cade Hornecker on the perimeter. A steal likely would have given Gueye a chance for an easy breakaway dunk but instead he catapulted toward midcourt, while Hornecker drove unguarded the other way toward the basket and then dished to teammate Cbo Newton for a corner 3.
Asked if Gueye was prone to getting too excited — something former backup center Emmanuel Stephen was a year ago before transferring to UNLV — Lloyd said after the game he’d have to watch that sequence again but noted Gueye’s youth and inexperience.
Patience is required, for Gueye and UA coaches alike.
Arizona forward Sidi Gueye (15) and Arizona guard Anthony Dell'Orso (3) defend Denver Pioneers forward Shaun Wysocki (1) in the second half during a game at McKale Center on Nov. 24, 2025. Arizona won 103-73.
“He’s probably got a lot to learn, but he's a great kid, and I think he's worthwhile for us to put a lot of effort and energy into him,” Lloyd said. “He needs to reciprocate with that same effort and energy, and then we'll probably have a winning formula.”
Pressing experiment
The Wildcats briefly tested full-court pressure on a few possessions Tuesday, but Lloyd said it was mostly a result of how the game played out. He said he called it early in the game for one possession, and the players put themselves in it afterward.
“We’ve spent some time on it,” Lloyd said. “We feel like we’ve got some good pressing lineups, and we want to keep exploring. We don't want to lock ourselves in playing one way all the time, but honestly it wasn't a master plan. … it was kind of player driven.”
Tickets on sale
Lloyd finished his postgame news conference against Abilene Christian by putting on his marketing hat.
Arizona had announced a crowd of 13,092 fans, but that left about 1,500 seats unsold, and Lloyd noted that UA is selling $13 tickets for its two remaining home nonconference games: on Dec. 22 against Bethune-Cookman and on Dec. 29 against South Dakota State, both of which will be played when UA students are on winter break.
“There's a kind of a fallacy about Arizona basketball with tickets,” Lloyd said. “Tonight we had a good crowd, so thank you for that. (But) people either think the tickets are too expensive or they're always sold out. That's not always true.”
While UA’s cheapest tickets for the upcoming home nonconference games have been $35, UA introduced a “Wildcat Walkup” sale in which any remaining upper-level seats will be available for $13. Fans can buy them at the reduced price starting an hour before tipoff at the McKale box office or secure them for $13 in advance online at arizonawildcats.com/walkup (or by inputting the promo code “BK26LAST”)
The $13 tickets are already available online for the Bethune-Cookman and South Dakota State games, and UA is also expected to sell $13 tickets for its Jan. 7 game against Kansas State at a date to be announced.
“I would encourage our fans to take advantage of that,” Lloyd said. “Maybe you don't have the means to buy a season ticket, but if you can go to a movie, you can go to an Arizona basketball game.
“This isn't a ploy to make money. This is about getting more people connected with our program because we know what this program means to this community, and we want to double down on that every step of the way.”
Arizona guard Dwayne Aristode (2) high-fives fans after the Wildcats beat Abilene Christian at McKale Center, Dec. 16, 2025.
Seats also open for SDSU
Promoters for UA’s game with San Diego State in Phoenix may have much more inventory to sell, according to Ticketmaster’s map earlier this week: Most upper-level seats were available starting at $42, while lower-bowl tickets ranged from $67 to $314.
Lloyd tried pitching that one, too.
“We know there's a lot going on around the holidays. We totally respect that," Lloyd said. "But we want to go up there and we want to connect with our fans, and we have players from that area. Obviously there's a kid on our roster right now. I think he's No. 10. He's pretty important to the community of Phoenix.”
Of course, Lloyd was referring to Koa Peat. The Chandler product and the Wildcats will face SDSU at about 8:30 p.m., or about a half-hour after Colorado and Stanford finish the first game of the doubleheader that will tip off at 6.
