On Tuesday night, while putting the finishing touches on his gameplan for Kansas State, Tommy Lloyd got to do a little advance scouting of the opponent after that.
“I had the old 100-inch TV split into a couple screens, and I was watching Kansas and TCU on one, and I was watching Texas Tech and Houston on another, just like you guys,” Lloyd said after the K-State game.
Advertisement
What he witnessed were a pair of high-level Big 12 games, ones that showed just how hard it is to win on the road in conference play as the home team rallied in both to win. Kansas’ overtime victory over TCU was particularly notable because it trailed by 15 with 4:38 to go in regulation.
Could that collapse carry over to Saturday, when top-ranked and unbeaten Arizona (15-0, 2-0) visits the Horned Frogs (11-4, 1-1)?
“I’m not a big believer in momentum from a previous game, positive or negative,” Lloyd said. “Let’s prepare like the game’s gonna start at 0-0, and prepare like they’re gonna come out and play great at home, and we’ll navigate the game possession by possession.”
Here’s what to watch for when the UA makes its first trip to Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth:
Advertisement
A dangerous team at home
While TCU did become the **trigger warning** 13th team in Division I history to lose a game it led by at least 15 with less than five minutes to go, that it was leading by that much against a ranked opponent on the road shows what it is capable of. The Horned Frogs have had a lot of notable performances this season, both good and bad.
TCU won a Thanksgiving MTE in San Diego in which it beat Florida and Wisconsin on back-to-back nights, and two weeks before that it played unbeaten Michigan to a 2-score game at home. But it also lost the season opener to New Orleans and had to rally from down double digits to beat Incarnate Word last month.
Both previous meetings between Arizona and TCU have been close ones, with the UA needing overtime to win in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and the Wildcats’ inaugural Big 12 game last season was a 1-point game in the second half.
Advertisement
“Jamie (Dixon), he’s a great game coach,” Lloyd said. “We’re expecting a real battle on Saturday.”
More physicality
Kansas State committed 29 fouls on Wednesday, leading to 39 free throw attempts for Arizona. Motiejus Krivas drew nine of them, leading to a career-high 12 foul shots (11 made) as part of his career-best 25-point performance.
“Every team will try to win games that way,” Krivas said of the physical approach K-State took.
TCU has committed 41 fouls in two Big 12 games, resulting in 58 free throw attempts, and it has gotten to the line 47 times. The Horned Frogs are actually smaller than Kansas State, with none of their rotation players over 6-foot-8.
Advertisement
With Arizona continuing to be a team that is more interested in scoring inside than out, dealing with contact and playing through it will remain a big emphasis. For the season the UA is taking 27.2 free throws per game, 11th-most in the country, and are outscoring opponents at the line by 7.5 points per game.
Double-double trouble
With about six minutes left against K-State, Arizona had four players within reach of a double-double, which would have tied a Division I record. They only ended up with two, from Krivas and Koa Peat, while Tobe Awaka was two points shy and Brayden Burries was a rebound away from his second straight double-double.
The UA had three double-doubles in the nonconference finale against South Dakota State, then two more in the Big 12 opener at Utah. For the season the Wildcats are up to 12, three more than last season, and they’ve come from six different players.
Having multiple double-doubles in four straight games is rare, though Florida accomplished this in the four contests immediately after losing to Arizona in the season opener in Las Vegas.
