At the beginning of January, Arizona was a team that was projected to not make the NCAA tournament. Since Big 12 play has begun, though, the narrative has changed drastically.
The Wildcats are now halfway through their conference schedule, and have put themselves in a position to possibly win the Big 12 in their first year.
At 9-1, Arizona is tied with Houston for first place.
Here are our five takeaways from the first half of Big 12 play:
1. No quit mentality
Arizona seems like it has adapted the conference mindset that no game is over until the final buzzer, something that didn’t feel like the case early on in league okay.
One trend that seems to be constant for the Wildcats is blown leads. However, it has yet to hurt them in a major way.
In many moments of various games, Arizona teams of years past would’ve caved in and called it a night. Not this year’s staff.
The obvious example is the Iowa State game. After Caleb Love’s halfcourt miracle shot, Arizona took control in overtime and seized the moment.
Against Baylor, Arizona had a 27-point lead that was cut down to nine, but the Wildcats did not flinch against and won by 11.
Even at Cincinnati, a 19-point lead was wiped out, but Arizona held on to win by five. Until it is proven wrong, Arizona is built to stay in every game, even if it seems over.
If the Wildcats can take this mentality into March, it could help them to go on a long run in the tournament.
2. Strong defense
One surprising aspect of Arizona’s success in the Big 12 has come on the defensive side. In almost every game, the Wildcats have excelled in the steals and blocks column.
In six of the 10 games, Arizona has had five or more blocks. When it comes to steals, the Wildcats have had five or more in every conference game.
“I don’t think we’re a bad defensive team,” Tommy Lloyd said after the Iowa State win. “I think we actually could be really good, and I think we’ve been great at moments. You’re just fighting for consistency.”
Maybe the overall scores do not show it, but Arizona can hunker down on defense and make it difficult for teams to run their offense efficiently.
Jaden Bradley showed off his defense when he had seven steals against Iowa State. Carter Bryant is on a streak of having two or more blocks in four straight games.
With the offense being inconsistent at times, it will be critical for Arizona to keep up the defensive intensity.
3. Offense is key
Arizona is a team built around offensive success. It is pretty evident that when Arizona is not scoring, it is more than likely not winning.
In the one conference loss to Texas Tech, the Wildcats scored 54 points. In every other game, they have scored more than 70.
Some of the recent offensive success has come from Bryant being able to come in and contribute off of the bench.
“He’s had some better moments, but he had a real Arizona moment today,” Lloyd said on Bryant after the Iowa State game. “None of them were dunks, none of it was easy. I mean, to go 4 of 5 from 3 and put the nail in the coffin (in overtime), in a game like this, it was pretty special.”
Tobe Awaka has also been a factor offensively. This included going 6 for 6 from the field against Iowa State.
“Offensively setting great screens, scoring when the opportunity is presented, and then offensive rebounding as well,” Awaka said after the Iowa State game. “Just kind of doing all the dirty work, just taking pride in that.”
Being able to score is something that Arizona is going to have to continue, especially in a league that prides itself on defensive intensity.
4. To love Love, or to not
In many moments during Big 12 play, Arizona fans have had mixed feelings about Love’s in-game performance.
While he may not be putting up the numbers he did last year, he has been able to put up good performances.
Six out of the ten Big 12 games has resulted in Love scoring 15-plus points.
“You guys know I love that kid, and I’m here with it, and I’m here for him, and that’s my job,” Lloyd said on Love.
While some of the shots are questionable, there is not one shot that Love puts up that he is not confident in. Even when he was 1-9 against Iowa State, he went on to hit three big shots to help Arizona win.
“I trust my work,” Love said after the Iowa State game. “I put so much work in the gym, late nights, early mornings, and I believe in myself. I believe that every shot is going in. Every shot I feel like was, it felt good.”
Love may have off nights, but at the end of the day he is going to be the one leading Arizona into March.
5. Still a lot left to play
Being halfway through the Big 12 schedule, and standing at 9-1, does not mean Arizona has room to slack off.
The Wildcats still have many big games to play. This includes home games against Texas Tech, Houston and BYU.
“I knew the games were gonna be tough,” Lloyd said.
The road trips are also going to be critical. To this point, Arizona has only dropped one road game, but it is more than likely to lose another one.
After playing Tuesday at BYU the Wildcats will still have trips to Kansas State, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas.