If it’s March, it’s time for high-stakes college basketball — and Five Takeaways. We’ll be here as long as the Arizona men’s basketball team remains alive in the postseason, analyzing every game.
Here are my top five takeaways from the UA’s 88-77 victory over Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri:
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
1. Overcoming the elements
Because of the way the schedule and seeding played out, Arizona essentially had to play back-to-back road games against Kansas. T-Mobile Center isn’t Allen Fieldhouse, but it’s just about the next-best thing for the Jayhawks.
The Wildcats won anyway.
Kansas seemed to receive a favorable whistle in the first half, when Arizona was called for 11 fouls to KU’s six — and four Wildcats had two fouls apiece. In the second half, Hunter Dickinson got away with an elbow to Henri Veesaar’s face, which wasn’t deemed a flagrant foul despite clear evidence that it should have been.
The Wildcats won anyway.
The free throw disparity flipped in the second half, with Arizona shooting 15 to Kansas’ one. The Jayhawks became far too enamored with the 3-point shot, though you could hardly blame them: They were 13 of 26 from beyond the arc with 3:24 to go.
Kansas missed four of its final five 3-point attempts — and didn’t drive enough to get to the line. The Jayhawks didn’t even get into the bonus in the second half.
There shouldn’t be any semblance of a homecourt advantage in the semifinal between No. 3 seed Arizona and No. 2 seed Texas Tech — the second of two stellar Friday-night matchups. No. 1 seed Houston faces No. 4 seed BYU in the first semi, a contrast in styles if there ever was one.
No one quite knew how Arizona would fare in the Big 12 Tournament without the “McKale North” effect the Wildcats enjoyed in Las Vegas. So far, so good.
2. Under-control Caleb
Speaking of not knowing what you’re going to get ... that’s an apt description of the Caleb Love Experience at Arizona. Sometimes he’s amazing. Sometimes he can’t make a shot. Rarely is he just solid.
Thursday was one of those rare nights. Love played completely under control — yet wasn’t passive. He didn’t force his shot. He set up his teammates.
Love finished with just 11 points, but he attempted only nine field goals (making four). He had a game-high six assists — and only one turnover. He also had a pair of steals.
Arizona has enough other scoring options — some expected, some unexpected; more on that in a bit — that it doesn’t need Love to play hero ball. Maybe he’s finally realizing that.
Love seemed to be looking for his teammates more than hunting his own shot Thursday night. My favorite assist was his final one — a sweet bounce pass to Trey Townsend for a layup off a set play featuring a dribble handoff and a back screen.
So many of Love’s games are either an A or a D. He had a string of clunkers down the stretch last season. His performance vs. Kansas was a B-plus — and that might be all the Wildcats need to make a deep postseason run.
3. Postseason Trey
It wouldn’t be out of line to term Townsend a bust at Arizona. He entered Thursday night with a reduced role and an average of 8.2 points per game — less than half of what he scored last season at Oakland (17.3).
But this season isn’t over yet. And Townsend is showing signs of a revival.
Townsend scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting Thursday. It was his second consecutive game in double figures. He’d had only one in his previous 18 appearances.
Like Love, Townsend didn’t force the issue very often. He dove to the basket and used his big body to score or draw fouls. Townsend’s five free throw attempts tied for his second most this season.
Like Love, Townsend doesn’t have to play like a conference player of the year (which he was, in the Horizon League) to be an asset to his team. He merely needs to be a good role player — a net positive.
Arizona forward Trey Townsend (4) goes up for a shot during the second half against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
Maybe March is Townsend’s time of year. He scored 38 points in the Horizon League championship vs. Milwaukee; had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Oakland’s upset of Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament; and put up 30 and 13 in a second-round overtime loss to NC State, which made the Final Four.
Again, Arizona doesn’t need all that. But if Townsend can replicate what he did the past two games against Kansas — 14.5 points per game on 76.5% shooting with one turnover — the Wildcats will be hard to beat.
4. Henri vs. Hunter
Veesaar was basically a nonfactor in the first game against Kansas. He got into foul trouble, played only 16 minutes and finished with five points and three rebounds — his lowest totals since Jan. 27 vs. Iowa State.
Meanwhile, Dickinson bullied the Wildcats for a career-high-tying 33 points on 14-of-21 shooting. There was every reason to think he’d do it again.
Dickinson finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. But he wasn’t nearly as efficient (8 of 18 from the floor). And Veesaar was superb.
Kansas' Hunter Dickinson (1) stands by as Arizona's Henri Veesaar dunks during the second half of their game in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
Veesaar’s 19 points tied for his second-highest total this season. (He scored 22 last week vs. ASU, which basically decided not to play defense the entire game.) He made 7 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 3-pointers. He also made all three of his foul shots.
Most important, Veesaar yielded no ground.
Dickinson is 24 years old and is listed at 7-2, 265 pounds. He’s a grown man.
Veesaar is still growing into his body. He’s listed at 7-0, 235.
But there’s nothing soft or finesse about Veesaar’s game. He’ll battle in the paint no matter how much weight he’s giving up. He also alters an untold number of shots with his length.
Tommy Lloyd elected to bring Veesaar off the bench Thursday, but Lloyd didn’t sit the big man for long. Veesaar entered 1:19 into the game and 1:54 into the second half. He logged 30 minutes, tied for his second highest total this season.
When he first started emerging, Veesaar provided jolts of energy in short bursts. Now he’s able to sustain it for extended stretches.
5. Second wind
It’s been something of a perplexing season for sophomore guard KJ Lewis.
He has regressed offensively, shooting under 20% from 3-point range and nearly doubling his turnovers per 40 minutes. He’s been playing with an injured wrist that might or might not be impacting his performance.
Lewis had one of the worst games of his career in the regular-season finale vs. Kansas, making just 1 of 8 shots and registering a season-worst minus-2.3 “Game Score” per Sports-Reference.com.
After a quiet first half Thursday, Lewis asserted himself in the second half and filled up the box score. In 11 minutes after the break, Lewis scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four rebounds and three steals. He also made 4 of 5 foul shots. He finished with a team-high-tying 19 points.
Lewis made the only 3-pointer he attempted Thursday, but he did most of his damage by driving to the basket and using his sturdy frame to power through defenders. He led the team with seven total free throw attempts.
One sequence in the second half encapsulated Lewis’ up-and-down sophomore campaign. He missed an absolutely wide-open layup. Then, while jogging back on defense, he came off his man, poked the ball away from Zeke Mayo, dove on the floor to snare it and drew a foul.
Lewis is a high-effort, high-energy player. Sometimes that effort and energy are misplaced. When he channels them in the right ways, like he did in the second half, he’s a difference-maker.
