Arizona Wildcats
2023-2024 Result: 27-9 record (15-5 PAC 12), Sweet 16 appearance
Projected Starting Lineup
Head Coach: Tommy Lloyd (4th season)
Guard: Jaden Bradley (JR)
Guard: Caleb Love (5th year)
Guard: KJ Lewis (SO)
Forward: Trey Townsend (5th year)
Center: Motiejus Krivas (SO)
Key Additions
Trey Townsend (Oakland)
Tobe Awaka (Tennessee)
Anthony Dell’Orso (Campbell)
Carter Bryant (4-star recruit)
Emmanuel Stephen (4-star recruit)
Key Losses
Pelle Larson
Kylan Boswell
Oumar Ballo
Keshad Johnson
Tommy Lloyd’s transition based offense is certainly tough to stop, as he recruits athleticism and speed at all 5 positions, and some teams just don’t have the ability to keep up with the tempo. This year should be no different with the Wildcats returning a lot of their guards from last season along with some frontcourt depth pieces. Arizona also went to the portal for some help and got Oakland transfer Trey Townsend and Tennessee transfer Tobe Awaka to add some frontcourt help to match Lloyds system. The perimeter trio of Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley, and KJ Lewis will certainly thrive with more transition opportunities, but this unit could be a little too transition reliant. Love certainly brings a lot of firepower to an offense when he’s on his game, but Bradley and Lewis may not provide the added perimeter scoring punch this team may need in a halfcourt setting. Campbell transfer Anthony Dell’Orso may be able to provide shooting relief, but may not play a massive role this season. We have seen Caleb Love carry teams through games, but we have also seen him shoot his team out of games and this team will probably be too reliant on him when they have to play in a half court setting. Trey Townsend may be the guy to alleviate pressure from Love when they play in tightly contested games, but I am not super high on his game translating to being an elite Big 12 forward. One area the Wildcats may be able lean on if the perimeter is struggling is on the offensive glass. This will be dependent on what lineup combinations Lloyd deploys in the frontcourt, but he has multiple big men that can feast on the glass. With Townsend not profiling as an elite rebounder, Lloyd could use lineups with Tobe Awaka, or 4-star Freshman Carter Bryant at the power forward position to pair with 7’2” center Motiejus Krivas. Krivas’ post up scoring ability can also open up the half court offense a bit, as he will have to replace the interior scoring presence of Oumar Ballo. While Krivas may not provide the same production in this area, his size and physicality alone will lead to some easy baskets in the paint. Coach Lloyd also has a duo of 7 footers on his bench who have some offensive upside, so the Wildcats will have plenty of options. Moving up in class from the Pac 12 to the Big 12 may give this offense some trouble with teams like Houston and Iowa State, who do a great job of controlling the pace of the game, but this Arizona offense finishing inside the top 30-35 is reasonable due to the speed and athleticism.
The defensive side of the floor is where the Wildcats have should be an elite unit with a ton of upside. It begins with the frontcourt group, as they have plenty of rim protection and stable rebounding to keep their defensive floor high. While this group may not finish 6th in defensive rebounding rate like last season, they still have a solid enough paint presence to finish in the top 25. Krivas, Awaka, and Henri Veesar have all had well above average block rates in their careers, so foul trouble will not create much of a drop off in production. Arizona doesn’t have the same depth on the perimeter, but their starting unit projects to be a great unit defensively. Love is an underrated defender when engaged, and Bradley and Lewis are defensive minded perimeter pieces who provide some turnover forcing ability. The on ball defensive activity of the perimeter is what creates a sky high defensive ceiling for the Wildcats, as Tommy Lloyd has never deployed a super aggressive defensive style, but it may just turn into an added bonus for this team. The perimeter has the ability to be in the top 50-75 in forced turnover rate, and that is something Arizona hasn’t accomplished in the Lloyd era (best was 111th in 2023-24). While foul trouble or an injury to a perimeter player may knock the defense down a bit, this unit’s floor/ceiling combo makes them a top 10 defense in the country.
Despite switching conferences, Arizona should be in the conversation once again as one of the elite teams in college basketball. This is most likely the most balanced defense Lloyd has ever had and it creates a bit of a different dynamic for this team. The Wildcats should give lesser talented teams a very tough time with their size, athleticism, and breakneck pace, but there are concerns about their style of play come March. Coach Lloyd has shown the inability to adjust when his teams aren’t able to get out and run in a tournament setting, and it may be the same case this time around with the lack of floor spacing and one on one scoring consistency on this roster. The Wildcats are certainly a top 5 team in this conference and also have the ability to win the Big 12, but we should have doubts when they deal with a certain style of teams.