Since the Arizona men’s basketball 2023-2024 season has concluded, it’s time to reflect and look back on the moments and lessons learned along the way. The Wildcats completed their 2023-2024 season with a 27-9 overall record and a 15-5 record in the Pac-12 Conference play while finishing first in the Pac-12. After a hard-fought season, Tommy Lloyd, who is in his third year as head coach, led the Wildcats to the Sweet 16, where they fell 77-72 to Clemson University.
The returning roster from the 2022-2023 season included returning seniors Pelle Larsson, Oumar Ballo, Grant Weitman and Luke Champion. Apart from the graduating class, other returning players included Filip Borovicanin, Kylan Boswell, Henri Veesaar, Dylan Anderson and Will Menaugh. The Wildcats were also built up with new additions, including Motiejus Krivas, Jaden Bradley, Conrad Martinez, Jackson Cook, KJ Lewis, Paulius Murauskas, Will Kuykendall, Keshad Johnson and former University of North Carolina Tar Heel Caleb Love.
Regular season recap:
Arizona opened its first regular-season game with a dominant 122-59 victory against Morgan State University on Nov. 6, 2023. Shortly after, Arizona claimed its first ranked win against No. 4 Duke University, beating the Blue Devils 78-73. Arizona then went on an eight-game win streak until falling to No. 3 Purdue University 92-84 in Indianapolis on Dec. 16. The Wildcats then went 6-4 over its next 10 games.
On Dec. 23, Arizona went into double overtime against No. 14 Florida Atlantic University. Despite the 96-95 loss, Ballo grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds, while Boswell picked up a game-high five steals. Six days later, Arizona opened conference play with a 100-81 victory over the University of California, Berkeley.
After a 73-70 loss against No. 21 Washington State University on Jan. 13, Arizona collected back-to-back comeback victories against USC and UCLA. Against USC, the Wildcats rallied late, defeating the Trojans 82-67 on Jan. 17. Arizona then faced UCLA on Jan. 20, inducting former Wildcat Benedict Mathurin, the sixth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft, into the Arizona Ring of Honor at halftime. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins 77-71, rallying from a 19-point deficit to stun UCLA.
Unable to carry momentum from the weekend prior, the Wildcats fell to Oregon State University on Jan. 25. Beaver guard Jordan Pope made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close out an 83-80 win for Oregon State. The Beavers shot 12-20 from beyond the arc while holding Arizona to only 3-14 from deep.
After losing to Oregon State, Arizona defeated the University of Oregon 87-78 on Jan. 27, as Love scored a career-high 36 points. The victory started a six-game winning streak for the Wildcats. On Feb. 1, Arizona blew out Cal 91-65 and Ballo became the 54th player in program history to score over 1,000 career points.
On Feb. 8, Arizona faced the University of Utah in a triple-overtime thriller in Salt Lake City, ultimately beating the Utes 105-99. In the victory, five players scored double figures, including Larsson, who led with a season-high 27 points and a double-double from Love (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Ballo (10 points, 16 rebounds).
Arizona’s six-game winning streak was snapped against Washington State on Feb. 22. Cougars forward Jaylen Wells’ four-point play in the final minute of regulation led Washington State past Arizona 73-70.
Over the final five games of the regular season, Arizona played impressive basketball, going 4-1, with the last game resulting in a 78-65 defeat from USC. Before that, Arizona met against UCLA on March 7, where Arizona would clinch its 18th Pac-12 regular season title. After finishing the regular season with a 24-7 record and a 15-5 conference record, the Wildcats traveled to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament.
On March 12, before the Pac-12 Tournament, the Pac-12 announced its men’s basketball all-conference honorees, including Love being named Pac-12 Player of the Year and Ballo being named to the All-Pac-12 First and Defensive teams.
Postseason recap:
Arizona began its postseason play on March 14 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, crushing USC 70-49. Arizona made use of its bench, outscoring the Trojans 32-3. Arizona then advanced to the semifinals, where it faced Oregon.
Against the Ducks, the Wildcats controlled the score as they built up a 33-23 lead into halftime, but Oregon was able to take over in the second half. Arizona would fall short of claiming its third straight Pac-12 Tournament title. Love put up his second-lowest-scoring game of the season with 6 points on 2-11 shooting, while Ballo achieved his 18th double-double of the season.
Arizona was selected as the No. 2 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament and faced off against No. 15 seed California State University, Long Beach, in the first round on March 21 in Salt Lake City.
The Wildcats made it through the first round with an 85-65 victory. Boswell scored 20 points and eight assists to help propel Arizona into the second round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 7 seed University of Dayton on March 23. Arizona maintained control throughout, defeating Dayton 78-68 to advance into the Sweet 16.
The final game of Arizona’s season was against No. 6 seed Clemson on March 28. The Wildcats’ 20th appearance in the Sweet 16 ended with a disappointing 77-72 loss against the Tigers. Arizona collectively shot 37.3% in the game, as Clemson’s defense was too much for the Wildcats. Bradley led Arizona with 18 points off the bench, with Love (13 points) and Ballo (15 points, 15 rebounds) following.
Looking ahead:
With an impactful year along with bittersweet moments that occurred throughout, the 2023-2024 season has left a memorable feeling for Wildcat fans. Arizona has continued to prove its determination to improve and show off a consistent work ethic while preparing for the upcoming season in a new conference. With several players stepping away from the program, the youth on the team will continue to build upon the program and allow for more historic moments to come.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
