Top-ranked Arizona will look to bounce back after suffering its first loss of the season when it hosts No. 16 Texas Tech in a Big 12 game on Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (23-1, 10-1 Big 12) had a program and Big 12 record start of 23 consecutive wins snapped Monday with an 82-78 loss at No. 9 Kansas.
Texas Tech (18-6, 8-3) enters the game with wins over West Virginia and Colorado after losing against UCF and then-No. 11 Kansas.
A key matchup will be in the paint with Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas and reserve Tobe Awaka matching up against JT Toppin, who leads the Red Raiders with 21.5 points and 10.9 rebounds a game.
Krivas had 14 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots against Kansas, but Jayhawks post player Flory Bidunga countered with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and had 10 rebounds.
Awaka got in early foul trouble and finished with only six points and a season-low three rebounds.
Texas Tech’s Lejuan Watts, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward, is second on the team with 6.4 rpg.
He will be matched against Arizona freshman Koa Peat, who averages 14.3 ppg but is coming off a six-point performance on 2-of-11 shooting from the field against Kansas.
“In this league, you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We played a tough game in a tough environment, but our focus has to be on the next one. Texas Tech is a disciplined, physical team that doesn’t beat themselves.
“We have to be better on the glass and more connected defensively if we want to protect our home court.”
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland, an assistant coach of Lloyd’s with the gold medal-winning Team USA U19 World Cup team last summer, also used the word “connected” when describing how his team must play against Arizona.
Keeping the teams connected could come down to the play of Texas Tech point guard Christian Anderson (19.1 ppg, 7.7 assists per game) and Arizona counterpart Jaden Bradley (13.5 ppg, 4.5 apg).
Bradley struggled at Kansas with a season-low six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line.
“The effort is matching the intelligence that we need to understand scheme and not just physicality or how hard you play,” McCasland said of the wins over West Virginia and Colorado. “JT Toppin and Christian Anderson are really the anchors to what we’re doing.
“Arizona is as talented as it gets. You can’t just play hard; you have to play smart, communicate, and stay connected for all 40 minutes.”
Anderson is coming off 11 assists against West Virginia and seven against Colorado.
Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries had 25 points against Kansas, his eighth game with at least 20 points.
He leads the Wildcats in scoring at 15.7 ppg while shooting 50.8% from the field.
Both teams have an eight-player rotation with all but one player averaging double figures in minutes played.
Texas Tech has attempted 705 shots from 3-point range, while Arizona is at 395. The Red Raiders have made 276 (39.1%) while Arizona has converted 141 (35.7%).
