LAS VEGAS – No. 13 Arizona made about as strong of a statement to start the 2025-26 season as it could on Monday night, knocking off the defending national champion and No. 3 ranked Florida Gators 93-87 in Las Vegas on opening day. The Wildcats challenged the Gators in the paint and made them pay at the free throw line, as freshman Koa Peat dazzled in his collegiate debut, while veteran point guard Jaden Bradley took over in the second half.
Tommy Lloyd secured his tenth win at McKale North at the helm of Arizona, crediting Wildcat Nation for the electric atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena.
“Arizona fans have a special relationship with Vegas and and we love coming here…to see all our fans around and the excitement for this game, it just kind of helps remind us why we do this.”
The Wildcats started out sluggish on both ends of the floor, with Jaden Bradley turning the ball over three times as the Wildcats trailed Florida 32-20. The Wildcats then went on an 11-3 run to cut Florida’s lead to three with 7:34 remaining in the first half, before an Ivan Kharchenkov three pointer gave the UA a 42-41 lead with 3:53 play in the first half.
Arizona outscored Florida 30-14 in the final 9:54 of the first half, taking a 50-46 lead into the locker room.
The Wildcats ramped up the physicality and toughness in the second half, forcing nine turnovers and rejecting five shots at the rim, including three blocks by Motiejus Krivas. The game was close down the stretch, as Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu and Tobe Awaka traded flagrant fouls, before freshman Koa Peat rocked the rim with back-to-back thundering dunks to give Arizona a 74-70 lead with 6:20 to play.
Peat finished with a team-high 30 points, including 17 in the second half, connecting on 11-18 field goals and 12-18 from the free throw line. Peat also had seven rebounds, five assists, a block, and three steals, firmly cementing himself in the national freshman of the year conversation on day one.
“Koa, it was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” said Tommy Lloyd after the game. “Everyone’s known about him, but no one’s really, really studied him and watched him, and he’s a special player.”
Arizona closed out the game without a field goal in the final two minutes and forty one seconds, but leaned on its 38 trips to the free throw line to stave off a rally by Florida, which trailed by just three points, 90-87, with 29 seconds left in the game.
Jaden Bradley showed off his maturity and veteran leadership, particularly in the second half. Bradley finished with a career-high 27 points, connecting on 9-of-14 of his shots from the field and 9-of-10 free throws.
“JB is a guy that he doesn’t need anything extra. He doesn’t take up any extra space in the room that he has to. He’s always leaving room for for his teammates to be special, and at the end of the day, he just get it done,” said Tommy Lloyd of his veteran point guard after the game. “I’ve been doing this for a while, and then they don’t make them much better than this.”
Freshman Ivan Kharchenkov also impressed in his debut and first-career start at Arizona, finishing with a hard-earned 12-point, 10-rebound (team-high) double-double.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 30-of-61 from the field and scored 50 points in the paint while out-rebounding the Gators 41-39.
Arizona returns home for its home-opener against Utah Tech on Friday, November 7, at 6:00 PM MST.
[…] Tommy Lloyd knew opening the season against the defending national champions would not be an easy task. But his Wildcats stood tall, emerging victorious in Las Vegas in a marquee matchup to kick off the 2025-26 college basketball season. Here’s what head coach Tommy Lloyd, star freshman Koa Peat, and veteran guard Jaden Bradley had to say postgame following the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats’ 93-87 win over the No. 3 Florida Gators. […]
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