The good, bad and ugly

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Let’s dive into the weekend’s news.

1. Arizona’s statement win vs. Duke just the start

“Believe it or not, you don’t get a trophy for your second game.”
-Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd

Technically, that’s true. But there should get something after a 78-73 win at No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Arena, a place where the Devils had won 17 straight.

The immediate reward is that the No. 12 Wildcats will ascend the newest AP rankings, perhaps even into the Top 5. The long-term reward might just be a run in March. That’s what Lloyd wants anyway.

“Listen, my goal is to win all our games in March and April,” Lloyd said. “I don’t have a November little checklist on my thing, to win all my games in November. So I’m glad we’re winning — it’s better than losing — but nothing more than that.”

Lloyd’s no stranger to regular-season success — Arizona is 6-2 vs. AP Top 10 opponents and 22-1 in non-conference play in his 2+ seasons — and more tests await, including Michigan State (Nov. 23), Wisconsin (Dec. 9), Purdue (Dec. 16), Alabama (Dec. 20) and FAU (Dec. 23). (btw, those last four are consecutive games, marking an insane stretch.) Credit Lloyd’s emphasis on game prep and communication.

But the Wildcats should emerge relatively unscathed if Friday is any indication of future success. Especially on the defensive end.

Arizona held Duke to just. .96 points per possession, mostly by denying good looks for any player that wasn’t Mark Mitchell or Ryan Young. It sagged off both players whenever they had the ball on the perimeter, clogging the lane and ensuring its bigs, Oumar Ballo and Motieejus Krivas could stay in the lane and protect the rim against Duke drives.

Duke had success scoring off pick and rolls and pick and pops, but struggled to find any good looks in the second half thanks to Arizona’s defensive discipline. (If you’re more of a visual learner, Jordan Sperber has a 3-minute video that highlights those adjustments.)

Not that it was all schemes for Arizona.

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