UA coach Tommy Lloyd speaks of contributions from UA's veteran players in the Wildcats' 69-65 win over UCLA on Friday at the Intuit Dome.
In a college basketball culture that often emphasizes the next, Arizona had a near-perfect debut this season.
With a monster 30-point college debut from Koa Peat, and a double-double from fellow freshman Ivan Kharchenkov, the Wildcats opened eyes all over the country with their 93-87 win over defending national champion Florida on Nov. 3.
But in their second game against a ranked opponent, the Wildcats' 69-65 win over UCLA on Nov. 14, the UA freshmen appeared more like ... freshmen.
Peat ran into foul trouble and had just seven points. Kharchenkov had only four points in just 14 minutes. And Brayden Burries missed his last eight shots after hitting a 3-pointer 79 seconds into the game.
They were bailed out collectively by Arizona's four returners -- post players Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka, wing Anthony Dell'Orso and guard Jaden Bradley -- and the Wildcats may need more of the same Wednesday at UConn if their freshmen production doesn't increase.
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"We know that the young guys are getting a lot of attention, but make no bones about it: We need our vets," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "They've been in these games before."
But, for Dell'Orso and Awaka, they're playing these games in different roles. Both lost the starting positions they held last season, with Awaka playing behind both Peat and Krivas inside, while Dell'Orso has yielded to Kharchenkov at small forward.
All of the returnees produced starter-level contributions against UCLA anyway: Dell'Orso had 20 points while hitting four of seven 3-pointers and two clutch free throws with 17 seconds left, Bradley had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Krivas (10 points, eight rebounds) and Awaka (eight points, 10 rebounds) effectively produced two double-doubles between them.
"I'm asking them to make some sacrifices because I'm trying to have a big picture in mind," Lloyd said. "But in doing this, I had a good feeling that Delly would own it. May not love it, but I bet he'll own it and he'll make the best of it.
"It was impressive (for him) to come in and have 20 points in the Intuit Dome against UCLA on a Friday night in November, an amazing performance."
Having disguised starters off the bench also tends to distort the "bench points" stat, in which UA had a 28-3 advantage over the Bruins. At least that's how UCLA coach Mick Cronin appeared to look at it when he said he needed more production from his reserves.
"Their bench destroyed ours," Cronin said. "I'm guessing Tommy didn't start (Dell'Orso) because he wants to bring in an offensive player, so he starts Kharchenkov. I mean, Dell'Orso is clearly the better player."
While Bradley doesn't need to sacrifice his starting role or his minutes, after averaging 35.5 between the Florida and UCLA games, his veteran savvy has come in handy for the Wildcats.
Bradley scored 13 of his 15 points against UCLA in the final seven minutes, helping wipe away what was an eight-point UCLA lead with 7:18 to go. In the final three minutes, he assisted a 3 from Dell'Orso, hit his own 3-pointer and drove inside twice for layups.
Basically, Bradley took advantage of a UCLA defense that Cronin said failed to rotate and get in front of him.
"That's common in college basketball," Bradley said. "As the game goes on, teams get a lack of discipline, they get tired and the gaps start to open up. At the end of the game, it's just easier driving the lanes."
Inside, the veteran bigs did a collective work compensating for Peat's rough evening. When Peat was out, Krivas and Awaka played together more extensively than they have so far this season, a total of over 15 minutes -- during which UA outscored UCLA by 14 points.
"I'm comfortable doing it," Lloyd said of the veteran post combo. "I think Tobe (Awaka) needs a little more experience in it. I felt when he was in the game at the four there was a real physical presence we had. Tobe is also good defensively. I thought he was really good in those switches tonight and just was a monster on the boards."
Also, Awaka "had some just vicious drives (early in the) second half, so I like it. It may not be esthetically pleasing to certain people, but I think it's tough to play against, and that's what we're aiming for."
Krivas, meanwhile, shot five for six from the field and dished three assists, including one that set up Bradley's go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:23 left. Krivas has been working his way back after missing most of last season with a foot injury, while Lloyd said the Wildcats have to be more adept at finding him on post-ups.
"Mo -- I don't want to say is just scratching the surface -- but I think there's some merit to that statement," Lloyd said. "He's really getting back the game. He's started to get back the game defensively. He's started to get back in the game on the glass. You felt his size out there."
In the end, the veteran bigs helped UA survive what Lloyd called a learning experience for Peat. The UA coach said he knew UCLA probably would "load up" on Peat, attacking his spin moves and getting in the gaps he tried to drive through.
"You can prepare for it but one of the things that that makes Koa good is how physical and how aggressive he is, so I didn't want to overdo it with him and have him going into the game fearful," Lloyd said.
"I see this as an opportunity that we can create a lot of offense from," Lloyd added. "I can't wait to get a hold of the film for Koa, for Brayden, for them to kind of see what adjustments they can make that can make the game come a little easier for them."
Maybe that learning experience for Peat pays off for the Wildcats later this season. Or maybe even Wednesday at UConn.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Up next
What: No. 5 Arizona (4-0) at No. 3 UConn (4-0)
When: 5 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Harry A. Gampel Pavilion; Storrs, Conn.
Watch: FS1
Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
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