Wild Offense: How Arizona Blitzed Past the Maui Invitational
When a team shoots 58.6% from the field against one of the strongest, grittiest defensive teams in the country, it raises some eyebrows. Add in a top 3 offense and the fastest tempo at KenPom, and it creates the recipe for a red-hot offensive team. This year’s Arizona team blitzed through the Maui Invitational, and Tommy Lloyd’s team already looks like a NCAA tournament champion contender. Here are the 3 biggest reasons for Arizona’s success, brought to you by From Downtown.
3) The Need for Speed
Arizona has the #1 ranked tempo at KenPom, but that can be a misleading statistic. Adjusted tempo is a metric that averages the amount of possessions a team has in 40 minutes (i.e. not taking overtime into account). Arizona easily places 1st in this metric, bearing .7 possessions higher than the next highest team in St. John’s, a notoriously fast team. The info that can be extracted from this statistic is threefold: Arizona shoots the ball quickly, rebounds well, and is forcing multiple turnovers a game. This is not new for Arizona, as they were in the top 10 last season. However, Arizona is a full 3 possessions higher than their mark last season, suggesting the roster and coaching has improved tremendously.
2) Big Men Playing Big
Take a look at Arizona’s game against Creighton, the preseason favorite in the Big East by many of the nation’s top analysts. Creighton’s most notable returner was Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7’1” center who was great for the team last year. Against Arizona, he was almost entirely neutralized. Enter Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, the big men on Arizona’s team. Not only are they dominant defenders and rebounders, but they completely wreak havoc on the offensive side of the ball. Ballo dropped a 30 point double double, and him cannibalizing 3 rebounds from Tubelis is the only reason Tubelis did not also record a double double. Meanwhile, the pair were able to crucially neutralize Arthur Kaluma, who had just 6 points, and Kalkbrenner - an inch taller than Ballo - had just an average night. Arizona big-led basketball can even be distracting for opponents, as despite Tubelis and Ballo going a collective 11/14 shooting against SDSU, they paved the way for Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey to each drop 21 points. Beware of these big men in the future, as they can take on any other big duo in the country, even one with a height advantage (as demonstrated against Creighton).
1) Tommy Lloyd: The Mad Genius
2022’s AP Coach of the Year looks poised to potentially repeat the title in 2022, and Lloyd has looked absolutely incredible as a head coach thus far. This was one of the riskier hires when it happened: Lloyd had exclusively worked as an assistant before, and taking over a Power 5 team as a 1st job can be demanding. However, Lloyd has absolutely shattered expectations so far, going 33-4 last season and starting the season with a Maui Invitational victory (which they won over favorites Creighton and Arkansas, as well as other strong teams such as SDSU, Texas Tech, and Ohio State). Lloyd is heralded as an offensive guru, something that is very common at the NCAA level. However, where he is differentiating himself from the pack is in the fact that he actually is an offensive guru. His offense is unlike any other team in the league, and they completely dismantled a San Diego State defense. They have a pretty bad turnover %, being well above the D-1 average, and yet they still have the #3 ranked offense in KenPom. This is because Arizona takes a “quantity first” approach, in which a contested shot or fast break is favorable to them as long as they quickly attack the net. Notice, it is not a “quantity over quality” approach, as Lloyd has worked tirelessly to polish this breakneck speed. He clearly knows how to motivate his guys, as this is not something just any team can accomplish. This is something reminiscent of Jerry Tarkanian’s championship UNLV team in 1990, where he outpaced teams with a blazing offense. Lloyd could be the next Tarkanian - hopefully without the off-field concerns - and if he is, a championship could be in Arizona’s future.
While Arizona is an incredible team in their own right, their situation is also very favorable. UCLA, Oregon, and USC, the preseason Pac-12 frontrunners, are all stumbling to start the season. As a result, Arizona is only tailed by Arizona State - a team which lost to Texas Southern - and a Washington team that lost to Cal Baptist (notably, both of these teams have strong wins over Michigan and Saint Mary’s respectively, and could be sleeper teams to look out for). While the Pac-12 is a mystery at current, Arizona stands clearly at the top of the pack, and is also likely among the best teams from a spectator perspective. Make sure to catch their upcoming game against the also undefeated (as of November 28th) Indiana Hoosiers on December 10th, which is sure to be a thriller! If they can win this game, Arizona may even find themselves rank #1 in the country!
