Bully ball: Top-ranked Arizona manhandling opponents during undefeated start

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona has become the bully on the block.

A program known for its free-flowing offense and efficiency, the top-ranked Wildcats have added a dose of bulk to beat teams down during their undefeated start to the season.

"You can sometimes wear people down with your speed, just getting the ball up and down the court and guys get tired, but they have a unique ability with their roster to wear teams down inside with their size," Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after the Sun Devils' 89-82 loss to Arizona on Wednesday night. “The size and physicality of their front line is different than anything we've seen this season.”

It's not just the front line.

The Wildcats (17-0, 4-0 Big 12) are big everywhere and it's helped them to the program's best start since opening 21-0 in 2013-14 while remaining one of three Division I teams still undefeated.

Arizona has been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for five straight weeks and, with a win over UCF on Saturday, could be the unanimous choice in Monday's poll following No. 2 Iowa State's loss to Kansas.

The Wildcats are still wildly efficient, No. 4 in the KenPom offensive ratings while averaging 91.1 points and 19.2 assists per game.

What makes Arizona different from coach Tommy Lloyd's four previous season is its heft. The Wildcats have 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas in the middle and are big at every position, a roster full of body bashers — even the freshmen.

“They’ve got freshmen that look like juniors and football players out there,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said after his team was blown out by Arizona last month. "They’ve got grown-ass men out there.”

Arizona's push to get more physical began after the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Lloyd's first season.

The Wildcats were a No. 1 seed and reached the Sweet 16, but were bounced from the bracket after getting pushed around by Houston. Lloyd wanted to add size and toughness following the loss, building subsequent rosters with more physicality in mind.

A perfect storm of power came together in this year's team.

With a big assist from strength and conditioning coach Chris Rounds, the Wildcats have mass to go with their length, allowing them to impose their will on opposing teams.

Point guard Jaden Bradley has filled out since arriving at Alabama as a lanky freshman in 2022. In his third season at Arizona, the 6-3, 200-pound senior has the headiness to make the right play at the right time, but also strength to get into the lane offensively and bang opposing ballhandlers without fouling on defense.

Australian sharpshooter Anthony Dell'Orso bulked up during the offseason, allowing him to become a much better defender. Krivas is a load in the lane at both ends, 260 pounds of force and agility.

And then there's Tobe Awaka.

The 6-8, 255-pound senior is built like an NFL defensive end and moves players out of the lane like they're tackling dummies. Awaka leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at 24.3% and is 10th in defensive rebounding percentage at 28.1%.

With Awaka leading the way, Arizona is second nationally in rebound margin at 14 more per game and has a 41% offensive rebounding percentage, good for fourth nationally.

“This is the only team in the country where you actually hope they make their free throws," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said after watching Awaka wrecking-ball his way through the Aztecs in Arizona's 68-45 win on Dec. 20. ”How does that sound?"

Arizona's freshmen also fit the mold, looking nothing like lanky, yet-to-fill-out teenagers.

Forward Koa Peat is a chiseled 6-8, 235-pounder who knows how to use his body to bump off defenders to create space for his shot. He leads Arizona with 15.3 points per game while shooting 57% from the floor.

Brayden Burries is broad-shouldered and bouncy, a 6-4 guard who has lived up to his five-star rating since an uneven start to the season.

German guard Ivan Kharchenov didn't arrive in Tucson with as many stars, but has been indispensable to the way Lloyd wants to play. At 6-7, 220 pounds, he's like a pit bull in basketball shoes, often shutting down the opposing team's leading scorer while creating havoc at both ends of the floor with his physical play.

The combination of length of and mass across the court allows the Wildcats to play a swarming, physical defense, where nearly every possession turns into an exhausting enterprise that takes its toll as the games wear on.

“There’s ways to be physical without fouling,” Lloyd said. “We always want to be as physical as we could be. We talk about playing clean basketball and contesting the shots within the rules, and that’s what we really focus on.”

It's good to be the bully.

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