Nearly six months ago, Arizona finished one of the best seasons in school history with its first Final Four appearance in a quarter century. Year 5 of the Tommy Lloyd era ended the same way the fifth season did for Lute Olson, with a national semifinal loss that, while disappointing, helped put the Wildcats on the map.
Okay, now what?
It took Olson six more seasons to get back to the Final Four after that first appearance in 1988, getting no further than the Sweet 16 between until the 1994 Final Four.
Lloyd set a very high bar for himself, and the program, when he declared in Indianapolis that he hoped to get to five Final Fours in a 10-year span. The road to No. 2 starts on Monday, when the UA faces old Pac-12 rival UCLA in Las Vegas to open the 2026-27 season.
This will be the second year in a row the Wildcats begin in Vegas, with last year’s debut in Sin City setting the tone for the big run to come. The UA, despite starting three freshmen, knocked off defending NCAA champion Florida to start a school-record 23-0 start.
“I’m sure it’ll be an entertaining ride,” Lloyd said of the opener. “I’m sure a lot of (fans) are going to hinge the hopes of our season on how Monday night goes. I’m not, but I’m sure they will. We’re going to give it our best shot.”
Arizona is a 4.5-point favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Wildcats haven’t lost a season opener since falling at Virginia in November 2006, but starting 0-1 would be far from the end of the world.
“We’re just looking forward to get out there playing great competition and getting the experience,” Lloyd said. “What’s great when you play games at this level this early is, man, you got to have to hit fast forward on the development of the team, and this is a great opportunity to do that because you’re going to be tested. One of the cool things about college basketball is, you win, it probably serves you well. You lose, it probably doesn’t hurt you much.”
The late Bill Walton will be honored at the game, with Arizona planning to bring the custom tie-dyed chair it made for him to T-Mobile Arena.
Here’s what to watch for when the UA and UCLA meet in Vegas:
The starting five (and beyond)
Last season, after starting the same five players for the two exhibition games, Lloyd switched things up and inserted Ivan Kharchenkov into the lineup and brought Anthony Dell’Orso off the bench. That move paid off in spades, with Kharchenkov going for a double-double in his first collegiate game and Dell’Orso serving as a key offensive weapon off the bench.
Could a similar move be in store again?
Lloyd used the same five of Kharchenkov, Derek Dixon, Caleb Holt, Bryce James and Motiejus Krivas against San Francisco, San Diego State and Eastern Washington. That was the starting lineup for the last two exhibitions in Lithuania, after Cameron Holmes started over James in the first game (which was the only loss in the lot).
To be fair, this would not have been the lineup had RJ Godfrey been available, but as of now that isn’t the case (a Monday surprise from a Waco judge notwithstanding). Godfrey would have started at the 4, moving Kharchenkov to the 3 and sending James to the bench.
If there’s a change, James is likely the odd man out, but who steps in for him is not as certain. It could be Holmes, transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius or freshman Maksim Brnovic, or Lloyd could just stick with what he’s done to this point.
“We’ve kind of done it for six games now, I don’t know how much more of a test case you guys need to be comfortable with it,” Lloyd said. “I think we’ve shown you guys what it could look like.”
Lloyd noted that Kharchenkov was effective at the 4 at times as a freshman, particularly when Koa Peat was out for a few games and Tobe Awaka was spelling Krivas at the 5.
Washington transfer JJ Mandaquit should be the most-used reserve based on his minutes in the preseason and the way he’s played when on the court, whether it be in relief of Holt or alongside him with a 2-point guard approach.
UCLA’s freshman phenom, etc.
Arizona will have at least one freshman in the starting lineup in Holt, who will become the fourth first-year player to start a season opener under Lloyd (the other 3 were last season). UCLA will also start at least one guy in his college debut, and based on his preseason performances could be in for a big season.
Nikola Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 wing from Serbia, was described by Lloyd as “maybe the best international kid” signed this offseason. He’s played professionally in Spain and over the summer averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Serbia in the FIBA U17 World Cup.
The Bruins return starters Xavier Booker, Eric Dailey Jr. and Trent Perry, who combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds against Arizona last season. They also added a few transfers including ex-Texas Tech guard Jaylen Petty.
Under 8th-year coach Mick Cronin, UCLA is predicted to finish 4th in the Big 12 and is ranked 25th by KenPom.
“Mick’s got a good crew,” Lloyd said. “They definitely look really good, and you know they’ll be well coached and just be sound, sound and solid and physical and all those things that kind of contribute to being consistent. I mean, they look like to me they have all the makings for having a really good season.”
The opponent’s attack plan
Cronin is 7-7 against Arizona at UCLA, with all seven losses coming since Lloyd took over in 2021-22. But the games have been tough for the Wildcats regardless of the result, with five decided by two or fewer scores.
That includes last year’s game when freshmen Kharchenkov, Peat and Brayden Burries all struggled offensively. They combined to shoot 6 of 18 and had 11 turnovers, a good indication Cronin targeted the youngsters.
“Mick’s always done a really good job at trying to figure out a couple matchup-type things he feels comfortable in, and like making your defense make decisions and simple little actions where he can kind of create some certainty,” Lloyd said. “He’s really good at that game, so I don’t know if it’s matchup specific, but maybe it is. We’ll see.”
UCLA isn’t particularly big, with 6-foot-11, 220-poundBooker as the starting center and 6-foot-8, 245-pound freshman Filip Jovic the backup post. The Bruins will need to figure out whether to double Krivas in the paint and risk foul trouble or focus on the guards to stifle Arizona’s offense.
