Ninth-ranked Arizona scored a pair of lopsided victories before packing for a tougher challenge: tackling undefeated Wisconsin in a non-conference game Friday night in Madison, Wis.
The Wildcats (2-0), opened with a 93-64 victory over Canisius, then routed Old Dominion 102-44 on Saturday.
“I think we’re trending in the right direction and I think we’re ready for the challenges that lay ahead,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said following the Old Dominion game.
Wisconsin (3-0), notched three home victories in a six-day span over Holy Cross, 85-61; Montana State, 79-67; and Appalachian State, 87-56.
“I’m proud of our guys for just how we’ve gotten better, I think, over the course of this week,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the win over Appalachian State. “Specifically, today I thought on the defensive end it finally started to click.”
Arizona is shooting 49.7 percent through two games, while holding opponents to 37 percent. The Wildcats almost have doubled the rebounding advantage, 51 per game to 26.5.
“I’ve really been on these guys to step it up defensively,” Lloyd said. “I think defensively we’ve been good the last couple of years. The numbers say we’ve been good, maybe even better than good. But I want more.”
The Wildcats have four players scoring in double digits, each in 22 minutes of playing time or less per game.
Caleb Love is averaging 13.5 points, while Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis average 11 apiece. Awaka leads the team in rebounds with an average of 12. The Wildcats have gotten 91 points off the bench in the first two easy victories.
Arizona outscored Canisius 48-12 in the paint, and Old Dominion 58-24. The Wildcats are 16-of-50 from beyond the arc, with Love hitting five of 13.
Wisconsin has five players averaging in double figures.
Transfer guard John Tonje, who was limited to six games at Missouri last season due to injuries but averaged 14.6 points the previous season at Colorado State, leads with 17.7 points per game, including 16 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Max Klesmit averages 16 points, with a team-high nine 3-pointers, and John Blackwell adds 12.3. Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter, a pair of 7-foot forwards, average 10.0 points and 10.3 points, respectively. Winter averages 6.7 boards and Tonje 5.3.
“That’s the exciting part about this group, is the growth that we’ve seen from when we started a week ago, to where they’ve taken some steps forward,” Gard said. “But we’ve got a lot more to go and Friday night will be a tremendous test for us.”
Wisconsin, 22-14 last season, was picked tied for 12th in the preseason poll in the expanded 18-team Big Ten.
Last season, then top-ranked Arizona dominated the then-No. 23 Badgers at home on Dec. 9, 98-73, with Love scoring 20 points.
Wisconsin has won the previous three meetings vs. the Wildcats, with the last two in NCAA Tournament regional finals, sending the Badgers to consecutive Final Fours.
–Field Level Media
