Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd reacts to play against Cincinnati during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

 Marco Garcia

No. 17 San Diego State (4-0) vs No. 14 Arizona (4-0) β€’ Maui Invitational semifinal β€’ Lahaina, Hawaii β€’ 8:30 p.m. β€’ ESPN β€’ 1290-AM, Varsity Network

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Kerr Kriisa (6-3 junior)

G Courtney Ramey (6-3 senior)

F Pelle Larsson (6-5 junior)

F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 junior)

C Oumar Ballo (7-0 junior)

SAN DIEGO STATE

G Darrion Trammell (5-10 senior)

G Lamont Butler (6-2 junior)

F Matt Bradley (6-4 senior)

F Keshad Johnson (6-7 senior)

C Nathan Mensah (6-10 senior)

HOW THEY MATCH UP

The series: Arizona leads 24-7 against San Diego State but the two teams have not met since the Wildcats squeaked out a 61-59 win in the 2014-15 Maui Invitational final. Freshman Stanley Johnson had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Arizona while picking up Maui Invitational MVP honors.

SDSU overview: Running again one of the nation’s Top 10 most efficient defenses, the Aztecs are remarkably experienced and stable for a high-major team in the transfer-portal era. They returned four starters from a 23-9 team last season, including former Cal guard Matt Bradley, who became the Mountain West’s Newcomer of the Year last season, and center Nathan Mensah, the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year.

While Mensah is the Aztecs’ third alltime leading shot blocker with 177 career blocks, the Aztecs also have lockdown guards who can extend comfortably into full-court pressure. Lamont Butler typically takes on the opposing point guard or primary ball-handler, while long and athletic wing Keshad Johnson is also an imposing defender.

San Diego State has also played a much tougher schedule than Arizona so far, ranking No. 53 in Kenpom’s schedule strength (Arizona’s ranks No. 284). The Aztecs opened with home wins over Cal State Fullerton and BYU, then won 74-62 at Stanford on Nov. 15 before traveling to Maui and beating Ohio State in their opener.

KEY PLAYERS

SAN DIEGO STATE

SDSU's Matt Bradley grabs a rebound during Monday night's win over Ohio State in the Maui Invitational.

Matt Bradley

Bradley isn’t just the same guy who dropped 19 points on Arizona as a sophomore in 2019-20 at Berkeley, or the one who had 21 at McKale Center during 2020-21. He’s better, and on a much better team. Bradley played just 18 minutes Monday against Ohio State because of foul trouble but still managed to score 18 points.

ARIZONA

Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa is introduced before Monday night's game against Cincinnati in the Maui Invitational.

Kerr Kriisa

The Wildcats’ junior guard has been on a roll in Arizona’s past three games, collecting 49 points and 24 assists over that stretch. He’s also been able to often break through fullcourt pressure though the one SDSU will throw at him Tuesday is expected to be on a different level.

Arizona's Oumar Ballo puts up a shot during Monday's win over Cincinnati in the Maui Invitational.

SIDELINES

A good problem to have

After the Wildcats played a first round NCAA Tournament game at San Diego State’s home arena last season, UA coach Tommy Lloyd called out Wildcat fans to show up and be louder.

He had the opposite problem Monday.

Arizona fans filled about half of the Civic Center’s 2,400 seats, and its booster section was tightly packed immediately behind the Wildcats’ bench. Cincinnati also had a loud booster section behind its bench, though its fans did not spill all over the arena.

β€œI felt like it was so loud in there, I couldn't communicate with the players as well as I would have liked to,” Lloyd said. β€œThat's something I’ve got to figure out on my end to help those guys a little bit. Maybe that communication caused some of our mistakes.

β€œListen, you got to get better as a coach. But I just know that that place was loud. I feel like every timeout was loud. I feel like every made basket was loud. My head's still ringing.”

It’ll be watchable

The last time Arizona met San Diego State, in the 2014 Maui Invitational, the Wildcats pulled out a defensive slugfest, with Stanley Johnson sprinkling in enough offense to help then-UA coach Sean Miller win a chess match against San Diego State counterpart Steve Fisher.

But this time, not only are the Wildcats averaging 104.3 points over their first four games while running the nation’s fastest tempo. San Diego State is averaging 81.0 points and has a Kenpom.com adjusted tempo that ranks 129th in Division I.

Bradley said confidence, experience and talented newcomers are making the difference in San Diego State's ability to score.

It’s β€œour chemistry as a team, just having a year under our belts with the returning guys and also the new guys,” Bradley said. β€œAnd we’re really deep. We've got guys that can contribute and score every other night. You never know who is going to be the leading scorer or who is going to have their game.”

A little help

Two early fouls limited Courtney Ramey to just three points in the first half Monday, but the Wildcats made sure he finished on a good note. Ramey had 14 points in the second half, allowing him to collect 17 in his first game as a Wildcat.

β€œIt was good to play with my teammates. It was good playing with them in practice, too,” Ramey said. β€œIt took me a minute just to get used to playing with them in a real game. I had some foul trouble in the first half, so I had to be a cheerleader in the first half. But they did a good job of getting me going in the second half.

Numbers game

1: More point Arizona will score than San Diego State on Tuesday, according to Kenpom.com projections.

5: Years since Deandre Ayton became the last Wildcat to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game until Azuolas Tubelis did it Monday with 30 points and 11 rebounds against Cincinnati.

22: San Diego State’s ranking in "Division I experience" (2.91 years), a Kenpom.com calculation of the average number of full D-I seasons played by the current roster, weighted by minutes played.

β€” Bruce Pascoe

No. 14 Arizona handled Utah Tech 104-77 Thursday night at McKale Center. Kerr Kriisa scored a career-high 24 points on six made 3-pointers, while Azuolas Tubelis finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

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