No. 1 Arizona will try to improve upon its best start in the Tommy Lloyd era when it plays South Dakota State on Monday night at McKale Center in the Wildcats’ first post-Christmas game.
The Wildcats (12-0) surpassed the previous best start of 11 wins to start a season in Lloyd’s first year as head coach in 2021-22 with last week’s 107-71 win over visiting Bethune-Cookman.
Arizona will complete its non-conference schedule against the Summit League’s South Dakota State (7-7) at 7 p.m. The Wildcats begin their Big 12 schedule at Utah on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Monday night’s game will be televised on ESPN-Plus with Daron Sutton and Corey Williams calling the action. Brian Jeffries and Ryan Hansen will announce the game on Wildcats Radio 1290-AM.
“I’m happy we’re here (at 12-0), but we really haven’t accomplished anything yet,” said Lloyd, who is 124-33 at Arizona. “So let’s roll up our sleeves and be more excited about the challenges coming down the road.
“That’s what I’m excited about. I’m looking forward to South Dakota State. And I’m really looking forward to playing in the Big 12.”
Lloyd said he told his players to be careful during their weeklong break in between games during the Christmas holiday.
“Our guys are hoopers, so I told them if they want to get in the gym and shoot by themselves, key word, by ‘themselves,’ I’m okay with it,” Lloyd said. “But they don’t need to be going to play with their high school team. They don’t need to be playing one-on-one with their brother.
“We don’t need any mishaps that way. We have a good thing going. Let’s stay healthy and keep it going.”
Arizona is averaging 89.6 points a game with three freshmen as starters — Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Ivan Kharchenkov.
Fifth-year senior point guard Jaden Bradley (13.4 points and 4.1 assists per game) has led the young group along with 7-foot-2 post player Motiejus Krivas, in his third season in the program.
Krivas (10.3 points and 8.1 rebounds a game), combined with power forward Tobe Awaka, has helped Arizona become No. 2 in the nation with an average rebounding margin of plus-14.6. Florida, which the Wildcats have beaten, leads at plus-15.6.
Awaka is averaging 10.4 rebounds a game despite playing only 20 minutes a game as one of Lloyd’s top reserves.
South Dakota State enters the game after losing its last two games against Wyoming 87-72 at Sioux Falls, S.D., on Dec. 15 and at Milwaukee 88-87 on Dec. 19.
The Jackrabbits have also lost at Power 4 school Oregon 83-69 on Nov. 12.
Bryan Petersen is in his first season as head coach at South Dakota State after serving six years as an assistant at the school.
His team has four players averaging double-figure scoring, led by sophomore 6-foot guard Jaden Jackson at 12.8 points per game.
Sophomore 6-10 center Damon Wilkinson (12.3), sophomore 6-3 guard Joe Sayler (11.4) and junior 6-3 guard Kalen Garry (10.4) are the other leaders in Petersen’s balanced approach.
“That’s what it’s going to take for every game we play this year,” Petersen said. “We need everybody when they step on the floor to make an impact to help us win and make winning plays.”
South Dakota State kept its only previous meeting with Arizona close at Tucson early in the 2019-20 season.
The Jackrabbits held multiple 10-point leads over then No. 14-ranked Arizona coached by Sean Miller during the first half before leading 32-29 at halftime.
A 12-0 run by Arizona in the second half enabled the Wildcats to pull away to a 71-64 win.
The Wildcats were led by Josh Green (15 points) and Nico Mannion (14).
NOTES
— The Wildcats’ 12-0 start to the season is its best since starting 12-0 in 2014-15. The last time Arizona started a season 13-0 was 2013-14, when they set a school record by starting 21-0.
— Arizona’s 36-point win over Bethune-Cookman on Monday was the seventh consecutive win by
20-plus points, the longest such streak by the Wildcats since an eight-game streak in 1928-29.
— Burries leads the team in scoring (14 points per game) this season. Through the first
five games of the season, he was averaging 7.8 points per game. Since Nov. 24, Burries is averaging 18.4 points on 57.1% shooting from the field and 38% from 3-point range. He is also at 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists over the last month.
— Kharchenkov is one of four true freshmen in the country to record five or more steals in a game twice this season. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
— When Awaka is on the court, he grabs 29% of all available rebounds (first nationally). He is the only player in the country with four games of 15-plus rebounds this season.
— Bradley was recently named to the Mid-Season All-American First Team by Jon Rothstein. He is
averaging 13.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and shooting 53.8% from the floor. He also has a
2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
— Peat is averaging 10 points, 5 rebounds on 59% shooting over the last three games. For the season, he is averaging 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and shooting 56.1% from the floor.
— The Wildcats have had seven different players lead the team in scoring in a game this season.
— Arizona is No. 1 for the fourth straight week and the 43rd week in program history. The four straight weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll is the longest streak for Arizona since holding down the spot eight straight weeks during the 2013-14 season.
— Under Lloyd, Arizona is 26-13 against Top 25 opponents. The .667 winning percentage is tied with UConn for the best in the country. Arizona is the only team in the country with five wins over Top 25 opponents this season.
— Garry over his last four games is averaging 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Jackrabbits.
— Jackson has scored in double digits in four of the last five games, which included matching his career high of 23 points in the last game at Milwaukee.
— Wilkinson has scored double digits in six straight games, including a career-high 18 against Milwaukee, all of which came in the second half.
— South Dakota State has never played a No. 1 team. Its previous highest ranked opponent was No. 2 Gonzaga in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
— Common opponent: Arizona defeated NAU (84-49) at McKale on Nov. 11 while the Jackrabbits won at NAU (75-62) on Dec. 3.
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