Considering that the Big 12 road only gets tougher ahead, maybe the most important thing for KJ Lewis and the Arizona Wildcats wasn’t just that they swept games at Cincinnati and West Virginia over the past week.
It’s that they enjoyed wherever they went.
Give them an unfriendly road environment, and they’ll embrace it. Henri Veesaar said he enjoyed being the “villain” while dropping eight points, eight rebounds and four assists at then-No. 16 Cincinnati in the Wildcats’ 72-67 win over the Bearcats on Jan. 4.
Arizona forward/center Henri Veesaar (13) and forward Trey Townsend (4) react from the bench during the first half against West Virginia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Three days later, playing before a less-than-full but overwhelmingly home-supporting crowd at No. 21 West Virginia, Lewis was happy to throw in a career-high 21 points during the Wildcats’ 75-56 win over the Mountaineers.
“I love road games. I love road games,” Lewis said Tuesday. “I feed off energy and I think my teammates do, too. We love road games.”
Give the Wildcats an extended blast of winter weather, and they’ll embrace that, too. Arizona players spent two days in chilly Cincinnati, then another two-plus hunkered down in Morgantown while nearly 10 inches of snow fell around them.
“We actually had a couple of great days here, and it was really good for us, that kind of bonding,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after Tuesday’s game, when asked what “Tucson people” do when snowbound. “For the most part everybody on our team are small-town people and probably closer to hicks than anything else. So we felt fine.
“And the snow doesn’t bother me. I mean, 22 years in Spokane — I tell people the old joke and there’s a lot of truth to it: I got tired of watching my wife, Chanelle, shovel snow all the time. So it didn’t bother me.”
This time, none of the Wildcats’ traveling party had to shovel snow. They just stayed inside a modern, comfortable hotel alongside the Monongahela River, and had a bus plow through the snow to get them to practices and meals.
In between practices, the Wildcats also kept their competitive spirit sharp through endless games of Uno.
Having played the popular shedding-oriented card game on their phones much of the time this season, the Wildcats also dove into Jaden Bradley’s card version during their trip.
West Virginia guard Javon Small (7) is defended by Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) during the second half, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va
Their camaraderie, and maybe their confidence, rose with each hand.
“We do a whole week, and whoever has the most wins in the week wins the whole week,” Lewis said. “I feel like I’m up there, and Caleb (Love) and (walk on) Jackson Cook. We have different groups but we all love to have fun.”
Then they went out on the court Tuesday and pretty much did the same thing.
The Wildcats (9-5 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12) worked together in waves of what is an increasingly effective rotation, moving the ball better as they have during what is now a five-game winning streak. They kept on top of West Virginia throughout the game even more than they did at Cincinnati, where they blew a 19-point lead before finding just enough to pull out a five-point win.
“I thought we controlled the game almost from start to finish,” Lloyd said. “That was what I was really hoping we could put together, more of a 40-minute performance. (In recent games) we’ve had a 13-point lead, a 14-point lead, a 19-point lead, and every one of them has come back close. So we really challenged our guys to keep the gap today.”
Lewis and Bradley were the principal responders this time. Bradley had nine of his 15 points in the second half, while Lewis had 13 of his 21 after halftime, with both players tossing in three second-half assists. That helped offset a shaky overall night from leading scorer Caleb Love, who played just 10 minutes in the second half.
Together, Lewis and Bradley helped the Wildcats pull away not long after the Mountaineers cut UA’s lead to just 48-43 six minutes into the second half after getting three straight 3-pointers, the last two from West Virginia guard Sencire Harris — who had made just 2 of 32 3s entering the game.
“Obviously, he’s not a great shooter overall, but he hit those two, they cut it, and the crowd gets going crazy,” Lloyd said. “Our guys from there were really steady, having a great approach and taking it possession-by-possession.”
After West Virginia pulled within five again with 13:35 left, Bradley fed assists to Anthony Dell’Orso (for a 3-pointer) and to Lewis (for a layup) while Lewis took a pass from Bradley in the left corner, drove on the perimeter to his right and then pulled up — not to shoot but to fire a pass through the crowd to freshman Carter Bryant to the right of the basket.
West Virginia guard Javon Small (7) is defended by Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso (3) during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Bryant put it in, and the Wildcats were off on a game-defining 11-0 run that also included a demonstrative dunk from Henri Veesaar, plus a 3-pointer and fast-break layup from Lewis.
Asked if he anticipated Bryant cutting to that exact spot near the basket for his assist, Lewis nodded.
“For sure. For sure,” Lewis said. “That goes with film and how coach Lloyd likes us to practice. We always do cut drills in practice.”
Lewis was also precise with his shot, making a career-high nine field goals in only 13 attempts, while adding four assists, two steals and three rebounds.
Lewis credited his teammates for moving and putting him in good positions, but also noted the extra work in the practice gym “that nobody sees,” as well as the support of teammates, coaches and his mother, Monica Ramirez, who supported him during a challenging nonconference season.
“She’s always been my backbone,” Lewis said after Tuesday’s postgame press conference ended. “She’s instilled confidence in me when I didn’t think I had it earlier this year, and she’s just been everything that I needed so far. I love her for that, and I’m probably gonna go call her right now.”
