Emotions and nostalgia will run high when No. 12 Arizona hosts UCLA for the final time in Pac-12 play on Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Ariz.
The best basketball rivalry in the West for decades is winding down — there is one more scheduled game in Los Angeles in March — but Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is in no mood to dwell on the past.
Lloyd is eager to see better play from his Wildcats (13-4, 4-2), who kept shorthanded Southern California at bay on Wednesday night. Although Arizona won 82-67, it was a sloppy performance in which Lloyd’s team committed 14 turnovers and shot just 40 percent from the field after a series of missed layups and deep attempts from 3-point range.
“It didn’t feel great, but we got the result we needed,” Lloyd said.
“I think we’re taking some crazy attempts, and that’s just something that’s never been a part of Arizona basketball since I’ve been here. We need better discipline and shot selection, even on our layups. We need to get paid when we get the ball in there.”
Arizona is trying to find its footing again, going just 5-4 after an 8-0 start to the season.
UCLA (8-10, 3-4) hopes it is beginning to see the light, winning its past two games after a four-game skid in which it failed to reach 60 points in any outing.
The young Bruins erased a 15-point second-half deficit Wednesday night, edging Arizona State 68-66 in Tempe, Ariz.
“I don’t believe in ‘one game turns it around,'” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “I told you we’re still grossly inexperienced. Saturday is going to be another brutal test. …
“There’s no ‘give up.’ I’m not allowing that. There’s never going to be ‘give up.'”
It will be a clash of styles Saturday, with Arizona looking to run and UCLA hoping to grind and play a low-possession game. The Bruins don’t have the firepower to hang with the Wildcats in a wide-open game, as Arizona entered Friday as the nation’s second-highest-scoring team (90.6 points per game).
Caleb Love, who had a team-high 20 points against USC, has at least 20 points in eight of the past 10 games. He is averaging 18.4 points per game, followed by Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson at 12.4 apiece.
Point guard Kylan Boswell has struggled in recent games and didn’t start the second half against USC, but Lloyd has not changed his starting five all season. If he does Saturday, Jaden Bradley will step in for Boswell.
UCLA is averaging 64.9 percent from the field and is shooting just 29.6 percent from behind the arc. Sebastian Mack averages 13.5 points and Adem Bona is next at 12.3; the sophomore had a career-high seven blocked shots against ASU.
Lloyd, in his third season at Arizona, has gone 4-2 against UCLA, winning both previous games in Tucson as well as two games in the Pac-12 tournament.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Lloyd said of Saturday’s game. “That’s a program that has a ton of pride. They have a coach who knows how to get his team to play hard. I imagine it’s going to be a hard-fought, traditional Arizona-UCLA game, just like 95 percent of them are.”
–Field Level Media