Current and former Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views.
News: After upsetting then-No. 3 Iowa State, the UA men’s basketball team defeats Arizona State 81-72.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
Views: Is it possible to shoot a combined 3 of 18 from the floor and still have a massive impact on your team’s success?
Carter Bryant and KJ Lewis proved that it is with their relentless defensive effort against the Sun Devils.
The freshman wing and sophomore guard combined for 18 rebounds, six steals and six blocks. The game flipped in Arizona’s direction when Tommy Lloyd unleashed a full-court trap a little over four minutes into the second half. Bryant notched three steals in just over a minute of game time. The Wildcats turned a 47-44 deficit into a 54-49 lead.
Arizona forward Carter Bryant (9) gets hit in the face trying to win the ball from Sun Devils forward Basheer Jihad (8) during the game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Feb. 1, 2025.
With the score 66-62 and less than six minutes to play, Bryant thwarted Alston Mason at the rim. Not to be outdone, Lewis rejected Adam Miller with just over a minute left. Even Caleb Love got in on the act with a block 21 seconds later.
(Love got a piece of BJ Freeman’s hand. Freeman later got a piece of Love’s noggin via a headbutt. More on this in a bit.)
No Wildcats play more like bulldogs than Bryant and Lewis. Against ASU, it was almost as if they were trying to one-up each other for “stocks” (steals plus blocks).
Bryant’s seven marked a career high. He’s had at least two in six consecutive games.
Lewis — who, at 6-4, doesn’t have the 6-8 Bryant’s length — notched five stocks for the second time in three games. He’s the team leader for the season with 47; Bryant is third with 43, just behind Jaden Bradley (44).
Despite Arizona’s surprising, sizzling start to Big 12 play, I don’t think this is Lloyd’s best team. But it might be the one that plays the hardest. Bryant and Lewis set that tone every time they step onto the court.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka (30) and guard KJ Lewis (5) stop Sun Devils forward Basheer Jihad (8) from getting the layup during their game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Feb. 1, 2025.
News: After the ejections of Love and Freeman, ASU coach Bobby Hurley pulls his team and staff off the floor.
Views: Hurley isn’t a Wildcat; he’s a wild card. But please indulge me in this exception if you don’t mind.
I predicted on social media after the game that Hurley would be fired at the end of this season. That post generated two main reactions — one a question and one a request.
The question: Why do you think Hurley will get canned?
The main reason: A pattern of behavior over time. Hurley’s in-game antics and postgame whining are getting old. At some point, the ASU administration will have seen and heard enough.
Hurley said after Saturday’s game that he got his players out of there because he didn’t want to further escalate a tense situation. But as colleague Jon Wilner observed, the coaches didn’t have to leave. That was a bush-league move.
ASU coach Bobby Hurley yells at Arizona assistant coach Jack Murphy for shaking hands with Sun Devils guard Adam Miller after the game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Feb. 1, 2025.
Remember this, too: Sun Devils AD Graham Rossini didn’t hire Hurley. That makes it a lot easier to move on.
The request, mainly from UA fans, was that Hurley remain on board. Some even suggested he get a lifetime contract.
Why? Because Arizona has owned ASU, and the Sun Devils aren’t faring all that well against anyone else. ASU has made the NCAA Tournament in only one of the past four seasons in which it was contested. At 3-7 in the Big 12, the Sun Devils are trending toward making it one out of five.
If ASU were having more success, Hurley’s behavior would be more tolerable. He doesn’t have little brother Danny’s résumé, or anything close to it.
News: The UA women’s basketball team loses at Utah 67-58, snapping its three-game winning streak.
Views: Sophomore guard Jada Williams was one of the bright spots, scoring a career-high 25 points. But I don’t necessarily think that’s a positive indicator for the team as a whole.
Arizona guard Jada Williams gestures after nailing a 3 from the corner against Cincinnati in the second quarter of their Big 12 game at McKale Center Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.
Williams’ highest-volume shooting games often occur in losses — when she has to shoot a lot because the offense isn’t functioning well or her teammates are struggling.
Williams made 9 of 20 shots, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the quartet of Breya Cunningham, Paulina Paris, Mailien Rolf and Lauryn Swann combined to go 4 of 23.
Cunningham, who’s been stellar most of the season, got into foul trouble in the first half and had her least productive outing since the first matchup against Utah. She’s been the Wildcats’ most consistent player overall, though, so we’ll chalk that up to an off night.
With most of the rest of the roster, you never know what you’ll get. And that puts Williams, as the primary ball-hander, in a tough spot.
When Arizona scored 77 points against West Virginia — an exceptional performance against the stingy Mountaineers, who allowed 37 in a win over Oklahoma State on Saturday — Williams took only seven shots. That was her lowest total this season when playing 30-plus minutes.
The East team's Jacory Croskey-Merritt — representing both Arizona and New Mexico — celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the West in the first half of the East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas, Jan. 30, 2025.
In the Wildcats’ 14 wins, Williams averages 10.3 shot attempts. In their eight losses, she averages 15.1.
The former is skewed by nonconference matchups against lower-rung teams. Looking exclusively at Big 12 games, Williams averages 12.4 attempts in wins and 15.6 in losses.
As a point guard by trade, Williams wants to get her teammates involved. But they have to do their part. If/when that happens, Arizona can be the best version of itself.
News: Former UA football players Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jonah Savaiinaea participate in pre-draft showcase games.
Views: Remember when I said that players should be represented by more than one school in the transfer-portal era?
Croskey-Merritt wore Arizona and New Mexico stickers on his helmet during the East-West Shrine Game — in which he scored two touchdowns and was named the Offensive MVP.
American team offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea of Arizona gets in position to block during the first half of the Senior Bowl on Feb. 1, 2025, in Mobile, Ala.
What a wild six months it’s been for Croskey-Merritt. He sparkled in his UA debut (106 yards, one TD) before concerns were raised about his eligibility. He never played another down for Arizona.
Then Croskey-Merritt — with fresh legs — got a chance to show out in front of NFL scouts. He took advantage of the opportunity and then some. He now has a shot to be a Day 3 draft pick repping Arizona/New Mexico.
Savaiinaea didn’t generate any big headlines at the Senior Bowl, but he did nothing to hurt his stock. In fact, he might have boosted it.
Savaiinaea’s arms were measured at 34⅝ inches. That’s a key marker for NFL teams when determining whether an offensive line prospect can play tackle.
Savaiinaea had the longest arms of any interior O-line prospect at the Senior Bowl. Only one player labeled as an interior lineman, Michigan’s LaDarius Henderson, had longer arms at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine.
Guard is considered Savaiinaea’s best long-term position. But if NFL teams are convinced that he could play tackle, if only in a pinch, that could make the difference between Savaiinaea being a first- or second-round pick.
