It has been a rough start to the season for Arizona’s men’s basketball team.
With the expectation of being a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and even having a chance to win a national championship, the Wildcats need to get back on track.
Arizona’s schedule hasn’t done them any favors, either.
The Wildcats have played Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, but those are the teams Arizona will have to beat if they want to become champions.
There is a lot that has to change over the next few weeks, and luckily, they have time.
Conference play does not start until Dec. 30, giving Arizona and Tommy Lloyd time to figure things out.
They will not play again until Dec. 7, which is a good thing after their tough showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
There is too much talent on this roster for them to play the way they have through seven games, and there is one area Lloyd believes has to improve for this team going forward.
“We’ve got to get our bigs playing better. Our bigs have always been an integral part of what we do. They’ve got to create advantages for us. We’re going to attack that full force when we get home. I’m waiting for Mo (Krivas). If he’s going to eventually start I want him to earn it. It’s me trying to find a way to take advantage of these bigs that we have as a valuable asset. I think they can be, when we put this team together we thought that would be the case,” Lloyd said, according to Brian J. Pedersen of SB Nation.
While Lloyd is correct about Arizona needing to improve its frontcourt play, there are other reasons for the Wildcats’ struggles.
It all starts with Caleb Love, who came into the season with All-American hopes.
In Arizona’s losses, he has shot 45.0%, 38.9%, 23.1%, and 15.4% from the field.
His play in big games simply will not cut it.
Despite how ugly the performance has been from Arizona early on, it is important they understand the season is far from over.
Lloyd is ready to address what needs to be worked on so they can get things back on track and give themselves the best chance of meeting those high-end expectations.
“We got to back as a program and do some soul searching and find some real answers to why we’re not being as successful as we’d like to be,” he said. “I’m here for it. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, get on that plane, get back to Tucson and get back to work.”
It will take a lot to get going, but the talent should eventually figure it out.
