Southern Utah and Arizona have reversed roles entering their game Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
The Thunderbirds (8-2) are the team with the better record.
Arizona (3-4) is off to its worst start under fourth-year coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats have not started 3-4 since former coach Sean Miller’s first season in 2009-10, when they finished 16-15.
“We’ve got to (get) back as a program and do some soul searching and find some real answers to why we’re not being as successful as we’d like to be,” said Lloyd, whose team has lost consecutive games twice this season after not experiencing that in his first three seasons when the Wildcats went 33-4, 28-7 and 27-9.
Arizona lost its last two games in the Battle 4 Atlantis at the Bahamas last week against Oklahoma and West Virginia.
The Wildcats, the preseason No. 9 in the AP Top 25 poll, are no longer ranked.
It is the first time since early in the 2021-22 campaign that they are not ranked.
Caleb Love, last year’s Pac-12 Player of the Year, has struggled this season, although he leads the Wildcats with 14.6 points per game.
He is shooting 28.6 percent from 3-point range, a problem affecting fellow guards Jaden Bradley (33.3 percent) and KJ Lewis (29.4).
Southern Utah of the Western Athletic Conference improved to 6-0 at home this season with a 90-55 win over NAIA-school Park University Gilbert on Tuesday.
The Thunderbirds had 13 different players score, led by Jeffrey Langston Jr.’s 14 points in 16 minutes. He also had seven rebounds.
Jamir Simpson had 12 points with seven rebounds in 13 minutes, and Hercy Miller added 13 points and four boats in 14 minutes.
Southern Utah has the experience of traveling and playing a power-conference team, losing at UCLA 88-43 on Nov. 26.
“We didn’t play at UCLA; I’m not going to give any excuses,” Southern Utah coach Rob Jeter said. “We have a chance again like every game to rewrite or continue to write a story about our team.
“This is a great opportunity to go to Arizona and play a team that’s always in the hunt for their championship and making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be exciting to go there and play, knowing it’s our next opportunity and we’re playing one of the best programs in the country.”
Simpson is the Thunderbirds’ top scorer at 16.2 points per game, followed by Dominique Ford (13.8). Jamari Sibley’s 7.2 rebound average is a team best, while Tavi Jackson is dishing out 3.2 assists per game.
–Field Level Media
