Revenge is a dish best served by Tommy Lloyd. Arizona defeated UCLA 69-65 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California on Friday night. Arizona’s freshmen struggled versus a tough and physical UCLA team – Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, Ivan Kharchenkov and Dwyane Aristode combined for just 16 points between the four of them. Arizona also was able to weather several storms directed at them from the Bruins. UCLA went on a couple runs that rewarded them with the lead, but he Wildcats were able to push back behind the leadership of Jaden Bradley who undeniably took over in the closing moments of this game. Anthony Dell’Orso got Arizona to the finish line and Jaden Bradley pushed them over.
Dell’Orso Shines In New Bench Role
Anthony Dell’Orso was moved to a bench role on night one of the season versus Florida. Dell’Orso, a senior, was overtaken on the depth chart by Kharchenkov who went on to notch a double-double in his debut. “Delly” never stopped working. Ever since Arizona lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Duke and Cooper Flagg last season, he’s been working on his body, his defense and his on-ball decision making. Dell’Orso has been a dramatically better player this season than he was for Arizona last season.
In the game against UCLA, Delly showed that he intends on taking a backseat to nobody at the wing position on this team with his 20 points, two rebounds and three assists. He also hit some three-point shots at crucial moments in this game for Arizona. His contributions kept the Wildcats in this game throughout.
Dell’Orso deserves a massive amount of credit for his hard work and improvements this season, hard work that has led to him gaining 15+ pounds of muscle. Tommy Lloyd has been open about how much better Delly is this season and the respect is mutual. Here is what the Australian sharp-shooter had to say about his head coach Tommy Lloyd:
Old Dogs, New Tricks.
The aforementioned Dell’Orso was incredible on Friday night, but he was not the only upperclassman getting buckets. Point guard Jaden Bradley was quiet on offense for most of this one but found his stride when his team needed him most.
Now sitting just five points shy from 1,000 for his career, Bradley was unconscious down the stretch. He got downhill in his signature style, hurling himself at the rim completing circus layup after circus layup. Once he subbed into the game with eight minutes remaining he went four of five shooting with an assist, a rebound and a steal mixed in there as his Wildcats iced the game on the road.
Here’s what UCLA head coach Mick Cronin had to say on Jaden Bradley:
Junior Motiejus Krivas is another Arizona player that is simply keeping his head down and working on his game. Krivas has missed a large amount of his college stint at Arizona with injury. In his return to action this season, Krivas his been widely controversial among the Arizona fanbase. Some see him as an NBA level big man with the potential to completely dominate the Big 12 conference, while others view him as a slow, plodding, uncoordinated big who is taking up a roster spot that, in their mind, should belong to North Carolina power forward Henri Veesaar.
The reality of the situation is that Veesaar left and Krivas stayed. Krivas has been under a microscope but has performed. He had eight rebounds and three blocks versus Florida, seven boards and four blocks against NAU, and eight rebounds with a pair of blocks versus UCLA.
These numbers do not blow anyone away, but it’s the small things that Krivas is doing that indicate steady improvement. Offensive finishing around the rim, defensive rim presence, seeking the ball on offense, defending the perimeter, being more effective in the pick and roll are all areas that Krivas has improved in through four games this season, but most importantly, he’s stepping up in big games when he’s called upon.
It was Arizona’s older players, the vets, that got it done for them in LA. Meanwhile, the star freshmen that have been the talk of Tucson could not find their way in this one.
The Young Guns Jam Up
Arizona’s freshmen did not play well in this game. NBA prospect Koa Peat turned the ball over six times. Combo-guard Brayden Burries could not find the bottom of the net, going 1-9 from the field. Kharchenkov found ways to impact the game in transition but was quiet offensively. Dwayne Aristode was held scoreless to top it off.
Fans may be inclined to overreact to the lack of production from Burries but it is only November, his attitude seems positive and he is problem solving in live time on the court. The results are not yet here but Burries is putting in the work, maintaining aggression and keeping his chin up. Burries has slightly improved defensively as well if this performance against UCLA is any indication.
This was a great test for Lloyd’s youngest rotation players that have never faced UCLA and Cronin. To gain that experience, struggle and still come out on top is paramount.
Looking Ahead
The hits do not stop there for Arizona in the non-conference as they have Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies up next on the schedule. Lloyd and his squad will head to Storrs, Connecticut for yet another tough test, this time against a top-three team in the country as of writing this article.
The game will take place Wednesday, November 19th and will be played at 5:00pm Mountain Standard Time on FS1 for those that do not want to miss this heavyweight clash.
For year round coverage of Arizona Wildcats basketball, make sure to tune into the AZ Wildcats Podcast hosted by Damon Fairall & Kevin Thomas.
