In off-kilter Bay Area split, reserves Murauskas, Borovicanin bright spots for Tommy Lloyd's Wildcats

STANFORD, Calif. – After freshman Paulius Murauskas and sophomore Filip Borovicanin played in just six of Arizona’s 11 nonconference games, coach Tommy Lloyd fretted over how best to work them into his playing rotation more often.

“I don’t want to disrupt our team’s rhythm,” Lloyd said Friday, after the Wildcats opened Pac-12 play with a 19-point win at Cal. “I have hard decisions to make.”

Maybe not anymore.

Arizona’s 100-82 loss at Stanford on Sunday suggested that Lloyd now might want to purposely shake up what was a tight eight-player rotation, by using what some coaches consider their favorite motivational tool when players’ effort lags: The bench.

“I’m committed to giving some of these guys chances and (Murauskas) actually played well,” Lloyd said. “He and Filip got opportunities the last two games and played well.

“So you know what? Some of the other guys need to take notice. Nothing’s guaranteed in this deal. Don’t assume anything. We need to have that mindset.”

Borovicanin picked up six points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 14 minutes at Cal on Friday, while Murauskas became the only UA player to make more than one 3-pointer at Stanford on Sunday. In just a six-minute appearance, Murauskas hit 2 of 3 3-pointers, made both free throws he took and grabbed two rebounds, though he also turned the ball over once.

His play was a bright spot on what was otherwise a dreary afternoon for the Wildcats.

While losing for the third time in their past five games, the Wildcats allowed Stanford to shoot better overall (58.1%) and from 3-point range (64.0%) than any other UA opponent this season. Arizona also gave up 100 points for the first time in a conference play since Oregon beat them 105-75 in 2001-02, their Kenpom defensive efficiency falling from No. 2 to No. 7 after Sunday’s game.

All that was a marked contrast to the way Arizona’s defense aggressively shut down Cal early, going on a 20-2 run Friday after just three minutes to put the game permanently out of the Bears’ reach.

The Wildcats lost their way defensively against Stanford, in a big way.

“On our end, it was just a lack of communication, maybe just a lack of discipline,” said freshman guard KJ Lewis, one of UA’s top defenders. “Credit to them. They moved without the ball, they found the open man. They finished, they made tough shots.”

A lot of shots. Stanford made a school-record 16 3-pointers, the most by any UA opponent since Cincinnati hit 17 in a Maui Invitational game early last season – but the Bearcats took 34 attempts to do so, while Stanford made its 16 on just 25 attempts.

“That was the game plan,” said Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle, who made 6 of 8 3-pointers while totaling 28 points, saying coach Jerod Haase was talking all week about how Arizona’s defensive style might yield some good looks from long range.

Stanford entered Sunday’s game shooting 35.1% from 3-point range, but guard Andrej Stojakovic said the Cardinal emphasized dribbling less often, getting off shots quickly against the Wildcats.

“They pack the paint and we were just making plays for each other – one less dribble and kick it out,” Stojakovic said. “It says it in the team record for 3s: We did a good job of executing.”

It says it in the percentage, too. For teams who have tried at least 20 3-pointers against Arizona, Stanford’s 60.4% success rate was the highest since at least 1996-97 according to Stats, Inc.

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The Cardinal not only hit some difficult shots but also found a lot of open ones – maybe because of those quick kick-outs but also, maybe, because the Wildcats weren’t motivated to move all that quickly.

Lewis said it wasn’t a “mental thing” that Arizona suffered from after blowing out Cal on Friday and carrying a No. 4 ranking into a half-empty Maples Pavilion two days later.

But he indicated the Wildcats may not have taken the Cardinal seriously enough. Because it was one thing that Carlyle blew up in just his fourth game after being ineligible during the fall quarter, and it was another that forward Spencer Jones had 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting – because Jones has had a long history of playing well against Arizona.

And it also may have escaped the Wildcats’ minds that that Stanford beat them at Maples last season, and has played them closely in the two previous Pac-12 Tournaments in Las Vegas.

“I think we just didn’t come in respecting them,” Lewis said. “I think the lack of respect that we had for them as a team and their coaching staff kind of showed.

“We’re all gonna get together as a group and figure things out. We’ve got to play with a chip on our shoulder from this point on.”

They better, the way Lloyd explained it. While Lloyd said he was going to get on the plane home and “take a deep breath,” he couldn’t quite get there in the immediate aftermath at Maples on Sunday afternoon,.

Not after an 18-point loss, UA’s biggest margin of defeat since a 19-point loss at Oregon last season. Not after 16 3-pointers flew in. And not after Arizona set up just 10 of 32 field goals on the other end of the floor with assists and shot 7 for 26 from 3, its offense in nearly as much disarray as its defense.

“I’m disappointed with everything,” Lloyd said. “I’m just disappointed. I’m disappointed in our coaching staff. I’m disappointed in myself. I’m disappointed in our players. I’m disappointed in our schemes. I mean, there’s not one thing I’m happy about.”

Then Lloyd barely paused before correcting himself slightly.

“I’m happy Murauskas got to play a little bit and he hit couple of 3s,” Lloyd added. “He’s been waiting his turn and he’s a good player, so I’m happy for him.”

Rim shot

Arizona dropped six spots in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday morning. After Sunday’s upset at Stanford, the Wildcats moved from No. 4 down to No. 10.

Purdue, Kansas and Houston stayed the course at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, while Connecticut moved up a spot to No. 4 with Arizona’s tumble. Tennessee also moved up one spot to No. 5.

Florida Atlantic and Gonzaga had double-digit drops, with the Owls moving from No. 7 to 17th after falling to Florida Gulf Coast; the Bulldogs dropped from 13th to 24th after a six-point loss to San Diego State.

Photos: Stanford upsets No. 4 Arizona Wildcats to close out 2023, men's college basketball