NCAA Basketball: Alabama, Duke, Marquette rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
23. Arizona (2-2)
The first three seasons under Tommy Lloyd haven’t been perfect, but Arizona has been a program in much better shape, including a pair of trips to the Sweet Sixteen. There’s been something of a talent refresh with new faces in Tucson this season, and it seems like Caleb Love enough isn’t leading these Wildcats to the start they were expecting.
Exactly one week after a tough road loss at Wisconsin, the Wildcats picked up their second loss of the season, falling 69-55 at home against Duke. The Blue Devils not only avenged a loss from last season, but limited Arizona to one of their worst offensive performances in recent memory. Jaden Bradley scored 18 points while KJ Lewis had 12 points and 6 rebounds, though it was a rough shooting night for Love in defeat.
One week after significant questions about the defense, Arizona now has questions about the consistency of their offense. They were outplayed by Duke and that 55-point output certainly isn’t what Lloyd is looking for from this talented crew. Instead of a chance to lick their wounds, the Wildcats now head to the Battle 4 Atlantis, hoping to make the moves that will save them rather than sink their ship further before November ends.