March Madness is rolling on! Throughout the Arizona men’s basketball team’s run through the postseason, we’ll break down every game the Wildcats play. Here are five takeaways from the UA’s 78-68 win over Dayton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Salt Lake City:
1. Bradley and Lewis
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
They’ve been doing it all season. Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis have provided athleticism, defense and energy off the UA bench since November.
Now they’re doing it in March.
Bradley and Lewis were magnificent on the defensive end Saturday. Bradley was active and disruptive all over the court, notching a career-high three blocked shots to go along with three steals. Lewis had two blocks and a steal and at times guarded Dayton star DaRon Holmes II in the post.
Lewis is listed at 6-4. Holmes is 6-10.
Bradley’s defense on Holmes sparked the run that helped the Wildcat put the pesky Flyers away. Dayton trailed by five, 56-51, with a little over nine minutes to play when Holmes stole the ball from Lewis. Holmes drove down the lane, but Bradley reached in and yanked the ball away.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, left, forces Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks into a traveling turnover in the first half Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Arizona scored the next 10 points, including a strong drive by Lewis and a rare 3-pointer by Bradley.
Bradley finished with 12 points and got to the line a bunch (5 of 6). Lewis had seven points. With Motiejus Krivas chipping in four points, Arizona’s bench outscored Dayton’s 23-2.
But it was on defense where Bradley and Lewis made the biggest impact — even when the game was essentially over.
With 1:37 left and the lead at nine points, Bradley deflected an entry pass intended for Holmes, resulting in a steal by Lewis. Bradley then denied Holmes again. (Bradley is listed at 6-3, by the way.)
Lewis stuffed an Enoch Cheeks layup attempt with 12 seconds to play. Bradley got a hand on an inbounds pass, deflecting it into the seats.
All day long. All season long.
2. Going small
As documented earlier this week, Tommy Lloyd has a special relationship with senior center Oumar Ballo.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson, left, and guard KJ Lewis come together to fight Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks (6) for a loose ball in the second half.
But business is business, and Lloyd had to make a lineup adjustment in the second half. Dayton was slicing Arizona apart with pick-and-rolls featuring the slippery Holmes. Ballo was struggling against that action. So Lloyd went small.
He moved 6-7 Keshad Johnson to center. The small-ball lineup that was most effective in the second half featured Johnson, Pelle Larsson, Caleb Love, Bradley and Lewis. All are between 6-3 and 6-7. If the other team doesn’t have a Zach Edey-esque post player, that’s a mismatch-proof defensive unit.
Larsson played all 20 minutes in the second half. Johnson played 18, Love 17 and Bradley 14. Lewis and Ballo played 10 minutes apiece.
Ballo played 22 minutes overall and wasn’t a significant factor. His eight points tied for his third-lowest output of the season. His three rebounds tied his season low.
Chalk it up to the matchup. Holmes is a power forward — maybe even a small forward — masquerading as a post-player. He’s slender and slithery. Ballo actually did a good job of staying in front of him in one-on-one battles. The pick-and-roll action exposed Ballo’s relative slow-footedness on the defensive end.
Ballo has been Arizona’s most consistent player since Feb. 1. This just wasn’t his day. Kudos to Lloyd for recognizing that early and making the change.
3. Johnson brings the juice
Johnson is another player who always brings the energy.
His postseason experience is showing up in a big way, too.
Johnson played in the national championship game a year ago for San Diego State. None of these moments are too big for him.
The outcome Saturday was very much in doubt at halftime after Dayton closed the first half with a 10-0 run to cut Arizona’s lead to 40-33.
After a missed 3-pointer by the Flyers’ Kobe Brea to open the second half, Johnson was left open at the top of the arc for a 3 of his own. He knocked it down to bump the lead to 10.
After Dayton closed it to four with 15:07 remaining, Johnson drove the baseline and threw down a reverse jam.
Johnson finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting while also tying for team-high honors with seven rebounds (along with Larson, who led the team with six assists). And, as mentioned, Johnson played extensive minutes at center in the second half.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson scoops his way past Dayton guard Koby Brea (4) for bucket.
Johnson has provided exactly what Lloyd was seeking when he nabbed him out of the transfer portal: experience, consistency, versatility, efficiency and a never-ending supply of juice.
4. ‘Boz’ flaws
Sophomore point guard Kylan Boswell remains Arizona’s most confounding player.
Boswell arguably was the Wildcats’ best player in Thursday’s game against Long Beach State. He scored a career-high 20 points and was making shots at a time when the Cats were struggling against the Beach’s zone defense.
On Saturday, Boswell got in foul trouble, never found a rhythm and finished with just two points. To his credit, those two points came on a pair of foul shots late in the second half when some of his teammates were scuffling at the line.
In four of the past five games, Boswell has scored five or fewer points. Thursday’s game vs. LBSU appears to be the outlier in that bunch.
What will Arizona get out of Boswell in the Sweet 16 vs. Baylor or Clemson? Who knows?
Arizona guard Kylan Boswell outjumps Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II (15), left, and guard Enoch Cheeks (6) but can’t quite grab the rebound in the second half.
Maybe our expectations were always too high for him.
The TV broadcasters rarely mention Boswell’s age anymore, a regular talking point when he was a 17-year-old freshman. But he’s still just an 18-year-old sophomore.
He won’t turn 19 until after the season is over.
Conscious of that fact, Lloyd has been protective of Boswell when others — including us in the media — have attacked him. Aside from Senior Day, Lloyd has stuck with Boswell in the starting five when others — including us in the media — called for him to be benched.
Thanks mainly to Bradley, the Wildcats proved Saturday they could win a postseason game despite Boswell being a nonfactor. You’d like to think they won’t have to again, but his recent track record suggests otherwise.
5. How sweet it still is
The expectations for UA men’s basketball as a whole are as high as anyone’s in the nation. We just assume the Wildcats will make the Sweet 16 every year.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson celebrates after nailing a 3 from the top of the key in the second half.
But that’s not the reality, and we shouldn’t take this achievement for granted.
UA Athletics posted a picture on social media of “2024” being added to the scroll of Sweet 16 appearances at McKale Center. It’s the Wildcats’ second Sweet 16 in three years under Lloyd.
Before that? A four-year gap.
One of those seasons was the pandemic year, when the NCAA Tournament wasn’t played. The next year, the UA self-imposed a postseason ban.
The Wildcats didn’t make it, on merit, in 2019. They lost in the first round in 2016, ’18 and ’23.
UA fans will be bitterly disappointed if they don’t make the Final Four this year after hovering around the Top 5 all season. Lloyd and the Wildcats have talked about their championship goals multiple times.
But the Sweet 16 in and of itself is worth celebrating. If it weren’t, they wouldn’t commemorate each appearance on the hallowed walls of McKale.
