WATCH LIST SEASON
Three Wildcats were included on the positional awards watch lists from the Basketball Hall of Fame to start the season.
Caleb Holt: Jerry West Award
Ivan Kharchenkov: Julius Erving
Motiejs Krivas: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
LEARN ABOUT LLOYD
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is in his sixth season as the head coach at Arizona and has a record of 150-37 (.802). It’s the second-best winning percentage among active D-1 head coaches that are in at least their fifth season at the Division I level (Mark Few – Gonzaga).
Under Lloyd, Arizona is 35-17 against Top 25 opponents, the best winning percentage in the country. Arizona’s 14-2 (.875) record vs. ranked teams last season were the most by any team in the country.
Lloyd was named 2026 Naismith National Coach of the Year, The Sporting News National Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year. He was named AP Coach of the Year in 2022, making him the fourth coach to be named national coach of the year twice in his first five seasons (Fred Taylor – Ohio State, Tom Izzo – Michigan State, Roy Williams – Kansas).
After sweeping the Big 12 regular season championship and tournament titles, Arizona has won six conference championships – regular season and tournament – in five seasons under Lloyd. (2022, 2024, 2026 seasons; 2022, 2023, 2026 tournaments).
IVAN THE GREAT VS. UCLA
Sophomore Ivan Kharchenkov had one of the most prolific games in program history, finishing with 38 points and 10 rebounds against UCLA. The list of Wildcats to reach those numbers in a game prior to Kharchenkov include:
– Al Fleming vs. Detroit (Jan. 10, 1976 – 41 points, 11 rebs)
– Bob Elliott vs. Utah (Feb. 15, 1975 – 39 points, 12 rebs)
– Bob Elliott vs. Cal (Dec. 27, 1974 – 38 points, 11 rebs)
– Al Fleming vs. SDSU (Dec. 7, 1974 – 39 points, 17 rebs)
– Bob Elliott vs. Arizona St. (Feb. 2, 1974 – 38 points, 25 rebs)
– Coniel Norman vs. BYU (Feb. 24, 1973 – 38 points, 10 rebs)
Kharchenkov became the second DI player in the last 30 years to have at least 35 points and 10 rebounds against an AP Top 25 team in a season opener. The other was Tennessee-Martin’s Lester Hudson at No. 3 Memphis to start 2007-08 (35, 10).
Source: arizonawildcats.com
