Following a Sweet 16 loss to the Clemson Tigers last Thursday in Los Angeles, the transfer portal opened to Wildcats players on Monday, and two players have already entered their names. Arizona Freshman forward Paulius Murauskas and sophomore wing Filip Borovicanin will enter the transfer portal. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony first confirmed the Murauskas news, while The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman first confirmed the Borovicanin news.
Paulius Murauskas
Murauskas, a 6’8 Lithuanian, appeared in 23 games for the Wildcats this season, averaging 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field, including 51.9 percent from 3-point range. He scored a career-high 12 points in just six minutes against in-state rival ASU. Murauskas also showed flashes during Arizona’s non-conference schedule, scoring 10 points in 18 minutes against Morgan State, and tallying a career-high 10 rebounds against Southern University.
The sharp shooter will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Filip Borovicanin
Filip Borovicanin, a fan favorite in Tucson, showed plenty of flashes during his two seasons at Arizona, but was unable to break into Tommy Lloyd’s eight-man rotation. The 6’9 Serbian appeared in 34 games over the last two years, including 20 in the 2023-24 season. This year, Borovicanin averaged 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds, while shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line. He finished with career-highs in points (11) and rebounds (7) in Arizona’s 122-59 win over Morgan State on November 6, 2023.
The native of Belgrade, Serbian played for the Serbia U19 team at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary last summer, where he averaged 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in the seven games.
With a top five recruiting class for Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats that is set to feature five-star forward Carter Bryant, and four-star guard Jamari Phillips, center Emmanuel Stephen, and guard Joson Sanon, the writing was on the wall about Paulius Murauskas and Filip Borovicanin entering the transfer portal and leaving Arizona.