Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd has a few words for guard Kerr Kriisa (25) after he come out of the game in the second half against USC at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., January 19, 2023.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

If there’s anything the Arizona Wildcats have excelled at under Tommy Lloyd, it’s righting their wrongs in games subsequent to a loss.

Since hiring Lloyd, Arizona is 7-0 in games after defeats β€” the latest example coming Thursday night, when the UA defeated USC 81-65 at McKale Center. The Wildcats’ average margin of victory after losses under Lloyd is 17.9 points.

Arizona center Oumar Ballo tries to drag down an offensive rebound in the middle of the USC defense in the first half of their Pac 12 game at McKale Center on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.

Numbers game

0 β€” USC is 0-15 on the road against ranked opponents under Andy Enfield. The Trojans haven’t beaten a ranked opponent on the road since 2010. Zero also represents lead changes in the game. Arizona led USC for 38:29.

4 β€” Arizona forward Cedric Henderson Jr. started his fourth game of the season Thursday, replacing wing Pelle Larsson. Henderson started the first three games of the season when guard Courtney Ramey was serving a three-game suspension. When Ramey returned during Arizona’s Maui Invitational championship run, Henderson returned to the bench and has served as the Wildcats’ sixth man. Henderson then replaced the defending Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year in Larsson, who recorded 15 points, three rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Four other Wildcats also finished in double figures: Ramey (16 points), Azuolas Tubelis (15), Oumar Ballo (12) and Henderson (11).

17 β€” Tubelis set a career high with 17 rebounds against USC. Tubelis has recorded a double-double in four of the last five games. Tubelis’ 17 rebounds are the most by a Wildcat since Zeke Nnaji against Gonzaga in 2019.

26 β€” USC’s 26 points at halftime are the second-fewest Arizona has allowed in a first half this season.

37 β€” With the spring semester at the UA recently starting up, the ZonaZoo returned in full force Thursday. It was the first game with students back since Dec. 13 β€” 37 days ago β€” against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Every student sitting in the lower bowl received either a red or blue β€œMake Some Noise” t-shirt and a glow stick.

76 β€” No. 6 Gonzaga, the team that employed Lloyd for 22 seasons as an assistant coach, lost to Loyola Marymount 68-67 in Spokane on Thursday, snapping the Bulldogs’ 76-game home win streak.

Indiana Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin dribbles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, in Indianapolis.

Benn Mathurin makes NBA history

Bennedict Mathurin’s impressive rookie season has put him at a historic milestone: the most points per game off the bench by any player in a minimum 30 games.

In 46 games this season, Mathurin is averaging 17.1 points per contest, more than Michael Jordan (16.7 with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards) and Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (16.5), per StatMuse.

In a 126-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mathurin often guarded Thunder guard and former Arizona State Sun Devil Luguentz Dort, who is also a Montreal, Canada, native.

β€œIt was an honor for me … just to have two Haitian-Canadians playing against each other in the NBA,” Mathurin said. β€œIt was a great thing.”

This weekend, Mathurin is playing his first NBA game in Arizona since he was drafted by the Pacers when Indiana faces the Suns at Footprint Center on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Former Arizona guard Reggie Geary points to a backdrop while talking with other attendees before the premiere of β€œLute,” a documentary about former Arizona coach Lute Olson, at Centennial Hall.

He said it

β€œIt was huge. I was playing against guys at schools that I saw in summer leagues and played against during league play in high school. USC didn’t recruit me. (USC head coach) George Raveling said he didn’t want to go into Orange County to get kids.

β€œUCLA recruited me, and I took an official visit and thought maybe I’d be a Bruin, but that wasn’t what I really wanted. … More often than not, we were victorious. … Every time we played them, it’s a big-time atmosphere and a big-time game, you want to do well.” β€” Former Wildcat and Los Angeles-area native Reggie Geary on facing the Trojans and Bruins (via ESPN Tucson)

McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.

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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports