The puzzle pieces are there for the Arizona men’s basketball team. Where they are is anyone’s guess.
And that’s what makes all this so puzzling to watch. Take Thursday afternoon’s 82-77 loss to Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal in the Bahamas.
It’s likely Arizona will fall out of the top 25 next week.
Arizona faces West Virginia on Friday at 1 p.m. for third place.
On Thursday, Arizona (3-3) was good enough, strong enough, capable enough, but couldn’t find a way to win.
Arizona played from behind all game – and couldn’t find enough offense from its supposed backcourt. And it was those pieces – Jaden Bradley, KJ Lewis and Caleb Love – who need to step up all the time.
Heck, I’ve been proven wrong the last two weeks, thinking that not all three could play poorly all at once. Maybe one and the others would (pick any combination) yet they’ve not put it together all together.
It’s clearly not efficient. Bradley had 16 points on 5-1 shooting; Lewis had five points on 1 for 7 shooting; and Love had 18 points on 7 for 18 shooting. They combined for 4 for 14 from beyond the 3-point line.
The others – from time to time – have to step up, too. Mo Krivas did a nice job. Trey Townsend did, too. And Anthony Dell’ Orso played admirably.
Still, Arizona isn’t a good team right now. Who would have thought that a month ago? It’s clearly the most difficult and perplexing time for head coach Tommy Lloyd since he’s been with Arizona – save for those hard-to-digest, NCAA tournament losses.
He’ll earn his keep this season. Arizona has lost three games in November for the first time since losing three in the Bahamas seven years ago (with what many at the time thought was Arizona’s best team in a long time behind DeAndre Ayton, Alonzo Trier, Dusan Ristic and Rawle Alkins). As it turned out, it wasn’t even close. They never really meshed.
Now, seven years later, Arizona’s roster construction – behind Lloyd – looked to be very good with so many strong pieces. A nice inside game with a solid outside game.
Those puzzle pieces just aren’t fitting snuggly.
It hasn’t shown itself in three of the last four games – and against teams that likely be in the NCAA tournament in March.
And that’s not a good sign – given what’s up ahead with the Big 12 Conference, one stacked with NCAA tournament-like teams.
Cause for pause? No doubt.
Much like Thursday’s game when Arizona struggled from start to finish as it trailed for 38 minutes of the 40-minute game. UA missed its first 10 shots and went 2 for 17 to start.
“I thought we were getting good shots,” said TJ Benson, Arizona assistant coach on the game’s postgame radio show. “I’m not sure if we are dismissing good looks and not finishing or not making open shots. If you start 2 for 16-17 it’s probably a combination of both.
Again, wasn’t this team supposed to be an offensive juggernaut with so many weapons?
It hasn’t been. Teams have realized if you cut off the transition game and make Arizona a halfcourt game, you have a chance. That’s always been the recipe to beat UA through the years.
This year is no different.
“We’ve been preaching to those guys for the last couple of weeks that it’s not going to come easy,” said Benson on the game’s post-game radio show. “We’ve played four good teams the last four games, and you know what, credit to them. I do think there is some frustration.
“As the game went on, we battled, we fought, and we had our opportunities (but) came up short.”
It didn’t help that its defense continues to play poorly on the perimeter. The Sooners gave up too many easy looks from beyond the 3-point line. Oklahoma hit 12 of 29 3s and kept UA at arm’s length.
It’s not like Arizona doesn’t have an athletic team where it can stretch its defense on the perimeter, but in all three losses it’s been a problem.
It’s still only November with a lot of games to be played, yet these are problems you hope can be corrected. It’s three losses now of a lot of the same issues.
