There have been high highs and some low lows for Arizona in recent play, going 3-2 in the last five games to sit at 12-3 in Big 12 play and alone in second place.
The Wildcats have set themselves up for a strong finish to conference play. This is the Big 12, though, so it won’t come easy.
There are still road trips to Iowa State and Kansas ahead among the final five conference games. With that in mind, here are five things to keep track of as Arizona enters the home stretch:
Shooting droughts
One trend that cannot follow Arizona into March is the offensive scoring droughts that have caused trouble all season. As of recently, it has cost the Wildcats the chance to win games.
Against Houston, it was a 4:09drought that allowed the Cougars to go on a 12-0 run in what ended up being a 4-point game.
“You got to play better offense, and that’s easier said than done against Houston, but we’re more than capable of playing better offense than we did today,” Lloyd said following the loss to Houston.
At Kansas State, it was another 4-minute drought that allowed those Wildcats to take a 6-point lead into the half.
Arizona was able to come back and make it close at the end of both games, but those more than likely were the difference.
Another scoring drought emerged against Baylor, but fortunately it did not come back to hurt Arizona. Regardless, a 3- or 4-minute drought cannot become a consistent thing down the stretch of conference play
Consistent rebounding
Most Tommy Lloyd teams are known for their strong ability to dominate the boards. That is the same deal with this year’s team.
In each of the last five games, Arizona has outrebounded its opponent.
On the season the Wildcats average 40.7 rebounds per game, and have an average margin of plus-8. Arizona is tied for ninth in the country in rebounds per game and 13th in rebounding margin.
A huge factor in Arizona’s rebounding dominance has been the emergence of both Henri Veesaar, but even more recently Tobe Awaka.
Veesaar is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game while Awaka is averaging 7.9 rebounds. Between the two, they can easily go and get Arizona 10 to 12 rebounds.
Being able to control the boards allows for Arizona to control the pace of games, and as long as the Wildcats control the pace, they will continue to win more games than not.
Hitting free throws
On the season, Arizona is shooting 77 percent from the charity stripe. This is tied for 29th in the country.
Now while this percentage is good, it is the timeliness of when free throws are missed. In the Houston game, the Wildcats started 10 for 10.
However, when the game was in the balance, Arizona could not fit its free throws, finishing 13 of 17. In turn, it would be a 4-point difference at the end of the game.
It wasn’t the reason Arizona lost to Houston, but it is something within its control. In big time games, Arizona has struggled at the free throw line.
Last year in the NCAA tournament loss to Clemson, the Wildcats missed eight free throws. In the loss to Princeton in 2023, there were only three missed free throws but they only attempted seven and lost by four.
When March comes, Arizona is going to need to be able to hit free throws in crunch time.
The starting five
Something that Arizona is still playing around with is the starting lineup. Not necessarily because the Wildcats need to but the opportunity keeps presenting itself.
When Trey Townsend went out due to a concussion, Arizona was forced into changing the starting lineup. At first, it was Carter Bryant who got the nod. However, he was not performing as well as when he was coming off the bench.
Then against Baylor, it was Veesaar that got the chance to start, and he did not disappoint.
Veesaar finished the Baylor game with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Not bad for his first career start, right? This in turn created a lot of opportunities for Awaka to dominate the post.
“The defense is more spread out, attached to him, because he’s a 3-point shooter,” Awaka said on playing with Veesaar. “So when I get in the post I have more room to operate.”
It was the sixth different starting lineup for Tommy Lloyd, and he might have found the perfect fit. Fouls will dictate how long Arizona can play both big men.
“I think we’re a great 1-2 punch,” Awaka said. “Henri’s a great floor spacer, I’m more inside, so kind of having that dynamic I think is really tough for teams to guard.”
Foul trouble
Recently, the Wildcats have caught a case of the foul bug. Going down the stretch of games, some players have been forced to sit major minutes.
At BYU, it was Veesaar, Bryant and Jaden Bradley who each had three fouls, luckily it did not hurt them. Bryant and Awaka both had three or more fouls against Texas Tech, again it did not hurt them.
At Kansas State, though, Veesaar, Awaka, Bryant, Caleb Love and KJ Lewis all had three fouls or more. This was a game where it hurt Arizona because those players were unable to play with the freedom they usually do.
Now even when players aren’t committing as many fouls, it still hurts in situations like Awaka picking up two early fouls against Houston. He was unable to find his footing in the game.
Even with players picking up fouls, it does not deter Lloyd from believing in any group that he puts out.
“We had a lead, that one group was good, and so we kind of rolled with it a little bit,” Lloyd said on the performance against Houston. “I don’t think it’s maybe Tobe didn’t get enough opportunities today, but he was fine out there.”
If Arizona ends up having more foul trouble down the stretch and into March, it doesn’t seem to play a big factor for Lloyd and his usage. They are still finding ways to win games despite the fouls.