LAS VEGAS – Well, that was weird. Wasn’t it?
Arizona didn’t look like Arizona in a season opener through the years. Heck, it was beyond watchable in the first half for the Wildcat loyalists.
Heck, going into Monday night’s matchup with UCLA, I didn’t know what to expect and that has rarely been the feeling in 30-plus years. But this season, it was different, given the high turnover and losses from last season (Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka). And they aren’t coming through that locker room.
The first half was evidence that Arizona was going to be a work-in-progress. Who was going to score other than Ivan Kharchenkov?
He had a career-high 38 points and added 10 rebounds. It was the most points in a loss since former UA Jerryd Bayless finished with 39 in 2008.
“Ivan was a warrior,” Tommy Lloyd said. “He dug deep, when we were struggling. He kind of gave us a shot in the arm, He kept us in the game, close enough to make a run, and then he a couple big threes. Just unfortunately, when you play that poorly for long stretches of the game, you really give yourself no margin for error, and that’s kind of what it came down to. I mean, obviously we had a chance, but I don’t think we were the deserving team. And so even if we would have won that, I probably wouldn’t sit here and be feeling great.”
Shots looked horrible.
Loose balls? Advantage UCLA. Rebounds? Advantage UCLA.
“That’s what these games come down to,” Lloyd said. “Hopefully, this is something we can learn from. The theme I’m talking about is learning.”
UA must have received some tutoring at half.
After being down 43-29 and later 16 early in the second half, Arizona roared back (like last year’s game with defending champion Florida) but this time there was no victory. Close, but weird, given the circumstances. Arizona lost 84-75 in a game it could have tied it with under a minute left, but oddly Mo Krivas threw a pass to, um, no one.
And that was, well, that.
“He thought he had a teammate open,” Lloyd said. “He blindly threw the ball away and unfortunately the guys in the white jerseys were on the bench. But it doesn’t come down to that play.”
Still, Arizona had some hope in a game where it didn’t look like they had a chance in the first half. Heck, at one point UA was 1 for 12 from beyond the 3-point line. And were getting crushed on the boards – and not that it evened out but Arizona was much better in the second half.
“Give our guys some credit for hanging in there and finding a way to come back in the game, but UCLA was the deserving team and usually the most deserving team wins,” Lloyd said. “Hopefully Arizona can learn from it and we can get better.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Arizona is a good team and will win a lot of games this year.
“They’re going to get a lot better as time goes,” Cronin said.
Still, Arizona will need more help for Kharchenkov in the form of Krivas, Caleb Holt and so many others. Here’s a stat: Arizona’s bench was outscored 20-4. That never happens.
Ever.
The bench went 1 for 9 from the floor. It wasn’t pretty.
Do you chalk it up to the first game? Perhaps, but Arizona has seen some questions – many questions about lineups and stuff – to find a way to win the season opener. Hell, UA hadn’t lost an opener since 2006 when it fell to Virginia.
Weird, right?
It was that first half – ugly and disjointed as it was – that gave UCLA the hope and needed advantage. As someone texted me: I can’t tell what we’ve been worst at … shooting, rebounding or halfcourt defense.
And he was right, save for seeing this seven months ago at the Final Four.
Lloyd said UCLA took his team “out of our rhythm and we couldn’t find it or awhile” in speaking about the offense. Nothing seemed to go right, especially with Krivas getting double-teamed effectively all night. He had only four shots.
“That happens to teams, especially early in the season when you’ve got a lot of new guys playing new roles,” Lloyd said. “You gotta get punched in the face a little bit and kind of lose your way. But I’m proud of the way our guys fought back.
“Of course, I wanted to win but I’m ready to move forward and let’s get better. I feel like this could be a great catalyst for us.
