TUCSON, Ariz. - After capturing the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll for the second straight week, the Arizona Wildcat hit the road this week to take on the Purdue Boilermakers at the Indy Classic on Saturday. The game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home venue for the Indiana Pacers and it will start at 2:30 p.m. MST on Peacock with Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel and Caroline Pineda on the call.
STARTING FIVE
1) Arizona is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll for the second straight week and the 39th week all-time. Prior to the last two weeks, the last time UA was No. 1 in the country was 2014.
2) Since arriving at Arizona prior to the 2021-22 season, Tommy Lloyd is 14-4 against AP Top 25 teams, the best winning percentage (.778) in the country.
3) Caleb Love has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.57 this season, easily ahead of his career ratio of 1.29. He also leads the team in scoring (14.1) and steals (13).
4) Sophomore guard Kylan Boswell ranks third in the country in 3FG%, connecting at a 52.5% clip so far this season. He's a 43.6% 3FG shooter for his career (43 games).
5) Arizona leads the country in rebound margin (+17.9 per game), scoring margin (+30.1), second in scoring (94.0) and assists per game (21.6).
SERIES VS. PURDUE
• Purdue leads the all-time series, 7-5, and has won the last two meetings in 2017 and 2007.
• Arizona's last win in the series came on Dec. 8, 2001, a 79-66 win in Anaheim.
• The two teams met in Indianapolis on Nov. 25, 2000, with Arizona ranked No. 1, and Purdue came away with a 72-69 win.
• The first meeting in the series took place on Jan. 1, 1934 in West Lafayette, 34-24 PU win
NOTING THE WILDCATS
• According to EvanMiya.com, the Wildcats' starting lineup the second-best five-man lineup in the country when adding offensive and defensive efficiency together.
• Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season with the Wildcats and has a record of 69-11 and 6-0 against Big Ten opponents, with wins over Michigan and Illinois in 2021, Indiana in 2022 and Michigan State and Wisconsin in 2023.
• Under Lloyd, Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 44 out of 80 games to lead the nation.
• Arizona's all-time record when playing at No. 1 in the AP Poll is 53-10.
• The Wildcats have been ranked 42 straight weeks and 42 out of 44 weeks under Lloyd. They have been in Top 10 for 34 weeks and in the Top 5 for 19 weeks.
• Arizona is the only Pac-12 team still undefeated and one of 7 undefeated teams in the country (through games played 12/14)
• Arizona is outscoring its opponents, 376-202, in the paint through eight games.
• Purdue and Arizona are two of the four teams in the country with three wins over Top 25 teams already this season (Kansas, Marquette are the other two).
• Freshman Motiejus Krivas scored 20 points off the bench against Belmont, the first Arizona post player to score 20 off the bench since Oumar Ballo did it on Jan. 20, 2022 at Stanford.
• The preseason All Pac-12 teams featured four Wildcats: senior Oumar Ballo (first team), senior Caleb Love (second), sophomore Kylan Boswell (second) and senior Pelle Larson (honorable mention).
• Ballo was named to the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, Love is on the preseason list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Keshad Johnson is on the preseason list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
• The 2023-24 season marks the 119th year of men's basketball for the University of Arizona, and the Wildcats have an all-time record of 1,870-977.
BALANCE
All five starters are averaging between 12.3 and 14.1 points per game this season. At least five players have scored in double figures in seven of eight games.
WORLDWIDE WILDCATS
Eight different countries, including the United States, are represented on Arizona's 18-man roster. The countries include Serbia, Sweden, Mali, Estonia, Lithuania, England, Spain and the United States.
NOTING DUKE
The 78-73 win at then No. 2 Duke on Nov. 10 was Arizona's first true road win against a team ranked in the top 2 since defeating No. 1 Stanford in 2001.
BIG TV NUMBERS
On Nov. 23, a record-setting television crowd watched Arizona defeat Michigan State on FOX on Thanksgiving Day. A total of 5.18 million people tuned in, the most watched regular season college basketball game on any network since 2008.
BEING NUMBER ONE
• Prior to this season, the last time Arizona was No. 1 in the AP Poll was Jan. 27, 2014.
• This is the 39th week dating back to 1949-50 season that Arizona has been No. 1. That total ranks ninth in NCAA history.
• Arizona's record as No. 1 in the country is 53-10 all-time.
• It is the seventh different season that the Wildcats have made it to No. 1 in the AP poll.
2023-24 - 2 weeks
2013-14 - 8 weeks (Elite Eight)
2002-03 - 13 weeks (Elite Eight)
2000-01 - 3 weeks (National Runner-Up)
1997-98 - 3 weeks (Elite Eight)
1988-89 - 4 weeks (Sweet 16)
1987-88 - 6 weeks (Final Four)
• Arizona is the only Pac-12 team to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll during the Pac-12 era (since 2011-12).
LLOYD LOVES IT
Head coach Tommy Lloyd's record is 69-11 in his third season as a head coach. After setting the NCAA record for most wins in his first two seasons (61), the focus turns to the three-year record. The NCAA record for most wins through three seasons is 89 wins by Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens.
KYLAN KONTINUES
After finishing the 2022-23 season on a tear from the 3-point line, Kylan Boswell picked right up where he left off in Arizona's season opener with a career-high 18 points against Morgan State. His line at No. 2 Duke was equally impressive, tying for game-high honors with eight rebounds and five assists to go with his 12 points and just one turnover.
For the season, he is shooting 50.0% percent from the floor (36-72) and 52.5% from the 3-point line (21-40). He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after the first week of the season. Boswell has made at least two 3FG in each game this season.
Boswell also spent time over the summer playing for the USA Basketball U19 team at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary. He was a starter for five of the seven games and averaged 6.4 points and 2.3 assists as Team USA went 5-2 at the event.
BALLO'S BUSINESS
Redshirt senior Oumar Ballo is back for his third year in Tucson. He was a First Team All Pac-12 honoree last year and was named to the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament team as well. He garnered MVP honors at the Maui Invitational a season ago on his way to setting new career highs in nearly every statistical category. He shot 64.7% from the floor during the 2022-23 season, which ranked eighth nationally and is the second-best single-season percentage in Arizona history.
He has scored in double figures every game this season. His best two games of the season have been the last two, as he finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds against Colgate and then 15 points and nine rebounds against Wisconsin. His career FG% currently ranks as the best in Arizona history (.644).
In his last 9 games against Top 25 opponents, Ballo is averaging 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and shooting 65.2% from the floor.
His development has been off the charts over the last three seasons, dating back to the 2020-21 season when he played at Gonzaga:
PPG RPG Min/G
2020-21 2.5 1.5 6.2
2021-22 6.8 4.4 15.2
2022-23 14.2 8.6 27.5
THINGS YOU 'LOVE' TO SEE
Senior guard Caleb Love arrived at Arizona this summer after three seasons at North Carolina. He has fit right in with Arizona's free flowing offense.
The St. Louis, Mo. native leads the Wildcats in scoring (14.1) and is second on the team in assists (36) and has a career-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.6. He is 24 of 44 inside the 3-point line, which is also a career-best.
Over the last five games, Love is averaging 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
In the game at Duke, he drilled four clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the Arizona win and improve to 3-1 in his career at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Against Michigan State, he tallied 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and against Wisconsin he dropped 20 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
SWEDISH ARMY KNIFE
Senior wing Pelle Larsson is a jack of all trades for the Wildcats while experiencing a career year offensively. He's averaging a career-best 12.3 points and shooting a career-best 60.9% from the floor He also has a better than 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (24-9). Against Wisconsin, he scored a career-high 21 points on 6 of 6 shooting from the field, including 4 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Always willing to be the first one on the floor for a loose ball, Larsson also leads the Wildcats on the defensive end with the ability to effectively guard one through four on the court and is the team leader in charges drawn.
BRADLEY IN FROM BAMA
Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley transferred to Arizona over the offseason after spending his freshman season at the University of Alabama.
Coming off a 13-point effort against UT Arlington, Bradley was 2 of 2 from the field against Michigan State, but drilled a clutch 17-foot jumper from the top of the key with 1:23 left to extend UA's lead to five. Coach Lloyd also noted after the game that Bradley's defense on MSU's Tyson Walker was exceptional. He's a steady guard that has excelled at his role and picking his spots when to be aggressive at the offensive end.
With the Crimson Tide, he appeared in 37 games and made 22 starts, averaging 6.4 points and 3.1 assists per game with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Arizona was heavily involved in his initial recruitment out of high school before he eventually chose Alabama. A native of Rochester, N.Y., he was a McDonald's All-American as a senior at IMG Academy.
MT. KRIVAS
Motiejus Krivas stands 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and has been a force with a soft touch around the rim from the moment he arrived in Tucson. He broke out with 20 points and nine rebounds against Belmont. He is shooting 58.1% from the field, 72.4% from the free throw line and leads the team with 10 blocked shots.
In the Summer of 2023, Krivas, at the age of 18, played for Lithuania at the FIBA U20 European Championships in Crete. In the seven games, he averaged 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.0 rebounds.
LOOK OUT FOR LEWIS
Freshman KJ Lewis was a Top 100 recruit in his class, but Coach Lloyd has commented that he may have been underrated. He won the dunk contest at the Red-Blue Showcase and averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in two games on the Summer Tour.
Through eight games, his hustle and energy on both ends of the floor has been evident. He's averaging 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists in just 19 minutes per game. He is 19 of 34 (.559) from the floor and 13 of 16 at the free throw line. His activity on the defensive end is a trademark of his, evidenced by his five steals in the opener against Morgan State and three more against Colgate.
BOROVICANIN BUMP
Sophomore Filip Borovicanin appeared in 14 games as a freshman, averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game. He scored a total of 18 points during his freshman season and has scored 29 already this year.
A natural play-maker with the ball in his hands, Borovicanin has nine assists to just three turnovers while playing just 10.1 minutes per game.
He averaged 10.0 points and 5.7 rebounds over the three games in Israel and Abu Dhabi and connected on 7 of 13 from behind the 3-point line. At the Red-Blue Showcase, he out-dueled Caleb Love to win the 3-point contest.
Over the summer, Borovicanin played for Serbia at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary. In seven games, he averaged 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 47% overall from the floor. Serbia went 5-2 and finished sixth.
MORE MURAUSKAS
The other Lithuanian freshman is 6-foot-9 wing Paulius Murauskas. Known for his outstanding shooting ability, he won't hesitate to let it fly from the perimeter. Murauskas is 8 of 13 from long rang this season and has made at least one 3FG in each game that he has played. He scored 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the floor in the opener against Morgan State. Against Southern, he grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his five points.
