Probable starters
ARIZONA
G Kerr Kriisa (6-3 junior)
G Pelle Larsson (6-5 junior)
F Cedric Henderson (6-6 senior)
F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 junior)
C Oumar Ballo (7-0 junior)
UTAH TECH
G Cameron Gooden (5-11 senior)
G Noa Gonsalves (6-1 sophomore)
F Frank Staine (6-6 junior)
F Dancell Leter (6-8 senior)
C Tanner Christensen (6-10 sophomore)
How they match up
The series: Arizona has never faced Utah Tech, the school in St. George, Utah, that has had seven previous names, most recently Dixie State University.
Game agreement: Utah Tech is making a one-time appearance at McKale Center in exchange for an $88,000 payment from Arizona.
Utah Tech overview: In their third season at the Division I level after being a Division II and junior college program before that, the Trailblazers finished in 10th place in the 13-team WAC last season despite one of the countryβs least efficient offenses (95.6 points per 100 possessions) and shooting just 29.5% from 3-point range. Then they lost big man Hunter Schofield (15.0 ppg) but added a valuable frontcourt piece in Idaho transfer Tanner Christensen, who leads the Trailblazers in rebounding (7.7) and is tied with point guard Cameron Gooden for the team lead in scoring (14.0). The Trailblazers have a number of other wing players who can score in multiple ways, with Isaiah Pope hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers so far while Gooden (4 for 15), Frank Staine (4 for 14) and Noa Gonsalves (3 of 11) have struggled from 3.
Defensively, the Trailblazersβ attack is slightly reminiscent of the βno middleβ philosophy TCU deployed when taking UA to overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
After losing at Nevada 84-71 to open the season and then beating Cal State Northridge 69-63 at home, Utah Tech lost at Washington 78-67 on Monday. The Huskies hit 12 of 18 3-pointers and held the Trailblazers to just 7 of 24 beyond the arc.
He said it: β(Gooden and Christensen) are are their go-to guys, like their head and tail of the snake, and they just have a bunch of guys who know what theyβre trying to do. Theyβre a different team than the ones we played in Southern and Nicholls. They want to execute more and exploit certain mismatches.
βThey wonβt mind running, but they like to run their sets, execute them and defensively, they play multiple defenses. They go back and forth between press, a man, a zone. They really want to take away the middle when theyβre playing man to man. They force plays baseline, take charges, and I think it took Washington a little bit or time to adjust. They really want to take away the middle of the floor and send you baseline.β
β UA assistant coach Riccardo Fois, who scouted the Trailblazers.
Key players
Utah Tech
Cameron Gooden
The Louisiana native came out of junior college in 2020 to become a staple of the Trailblazersβ march into Division I. Heβs started all 34 games heβs played in at Utah Tech, and is the Trailblazersβ leading returner in scoring (11.5 ppg) and assists (3.6), though he has more turnovers (12) than assists (eight) so far this season.
Arizona
Kylan Boswell
Despite offseason foot surgery and a decision to skip his senior season of high school, Boswell has quickly been proving himself off the bench in the backcourt. The Utah Tech game is a final chance for an extended audition without senior combo guard Courtney Ramey, who is scheduled to return from a three-game NCAA suspension on Monday against Cincinnati.
Sidelines
Lloyd 'excited' to sign KJ Lewis
When Texas guard KJ Lewis climbed into a high four-star class of 2023 prospect last summer after committing to the Wildcats, UA coach Tommy Lloyd had already been long sold.
βFrom the first moments we got involved with him, I was really impressed,β Lloyd said. βNot only is he a really talented player whoβs really trended up the last six months but heβs an amazing person with incredibly high character. I think you guys are gonna be blown away.
Lloyd then smiled at that thought.
βWhen you guys get to deal with him, he might even be, believe it or not, too nice. So weβll see if we can rough him up a little bit.β
On the court, Lewis a βMarcus Smartβ type of player who is effective on both sides of the court, Lloyd said, with character that was visible when Lloyd watched him play for El Paso Chapin High School last season (Lewis has since moved to Duncanville High School outside of Dallas).
βHe might not have had the greatest game ... but his body language towards his teammates was so good,β Lewis said. βHe didnβt play selfish, which a lot of kids like him would have played selfish. I just think he has all the makings of for what Iβm looking for in a player. I think heβs gonna be a great asset.β
Focused
Because the Wildcats are heading to Maui on Saturday, it might be tempting for the Wildcats to look a bit past Utah Tech. But Cedric Henderson says his teammates wonβt go there.
βI mean, we talk about it. Weβre excited. Weβre super excited,β Henderson said. βItβs Maui. Who doesnβt want to go and enjoy the beach? But at the same time, itβs business. You canβt have fun without doing the things that you have to do first.β
Henderson also has had a unique vantage point for the Wildcatsβ first three home games, having been on the other side of it as a player for Campbell, going on the road to face teams such as Duke, N.C. State, Marshall and VCU.
But, similarly, Henderson said he didnβt need to warn his teammates that a highly motivated visiting team can be dangerous.
βThey all know,β Henderson said. βA lot of the guys come from different parts. There are five stars. There are guys who came from being no-names. But we all know that if we want to be a great team, we have to win every game and go step by step. Thereβs no skipping steps.β
Spokane bond
There was one Utah Tech player that Lloyd didnβt really need to scout this week: Trailblazer forward Tanner Christensen played for University High School in Spokane Valley, Washington β just east of where Lloyd spent 22 seasons on the Gonzaga staff.
While Lloyd didnβt recruit Christensen, he did see him play in high school β because Christensen faced Lloydβs son, Liam. While Liam Lloyd has since played for Grand Canyon and NAU, Christensen has played collegiately for Idaho and now Utah Tech.
βI didnβt realize he had transferred to Utah Tech and when I saw him playing, I go, βYeah, this is the same player who beat my sonβs high school team,ββ Lloyd said. βHe had a really good senior year there and heβs just a good player. Heβs got good hands. He moves well and it looks like he has a good IQ. So itβs really cool to see a kid from Spokane doing well.β
Azoulas Tubelis named to watch list
Arizona junior forward Azuolas Tubelis was named to the 50-player watch list for the Wooden Award, one of college basketballβs major player of the year honors.
Four other Pac-12 players were also named to the watch list: Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell of UCLA, plus Stanfordβs Harrison Ingram and Oregonβs Will Richardson. Tublies could also face three other players on the Wooden list in the Maui Invitational next week: Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman of Creighton and/or Matt Bradley of San Diego State.
Numbers game
7 β Straight games away from home Utah Tech has started playing, with the first game at Washington on Monday and the second at Arizona. The Trailblazers are also scheduled to play at Idaho, North Dakota, Utah State and Weber State while also facing Cal State Fullerton in an event at North Dakota.
12 β Utah Techβs predicted finish in the 13-team Western Athletic Conference this season in polls of both coaches and media. Grand Canyon was picked to win the league, with New Mexico State in second place.
591 β Career wins atUtah Tech for coach Jon Judkins, counting games in junior college at Snow College and Dixie JC (now Utah Tech) and 14 seasons of Division II play at Utah Tech (then known as Dixie State).