Takeaways from No. 1 Arizona men’s basketball’s overtime loss to No. 16 Texas Tech

Between ESPN’s College GameDay back for its first show since 2022 and Caleb Love returning to Tucson for his Ring of Honor induction, everything was setting up to be the perfect day the McKale Center. After suffering their first loss of the season Monday at No. 9 Kansas, the hungry Wildcats had all the motivation they needed to claw their back into the victory column. But Saturday didn’t go according to plan, with Tommy Lloyd and Arizona suffering their first home loss of the 2025-26 season. Check out our three takeaways and observations from Arizona men’s basketball’s 78-75 overtime loss to No. 16 Texas Tech.

1) Texas Tech (and Kansas) beat Arizona at its own game

There has been a common thread in both of Arizona’s losses this week, beat the Wildcats at their own game. The Jayhawks met the Wildcats at the rim, finishing with nearly identical rebounding and points in the paint figures. KU also shot more attempts at the free throw line than the UA, just the fourth time that has happened to Tommy Lloyd’s group this season. On Saturday, the Red Raiders used a nearly identical blueprint to force the Wildcats’ second loss in as many games.

Arizona and Texas Tech each scored 26 points in the paint, securing 41 and 39 rebounds respectively. And while the UA was able to get to the free throw line 31 times, TTU offset the production by shooting 11-of-33 from beyond the perimeter.

Arizona’s bread and butter all season has been to completely dominate its opponents inside, winning the rebounding battle on both sides of the floor, living in the paint offensively, and threaten for a three-point play the old fashioned way on nearly every possession. Per KenPom.com, Tobe Awaka is the nation’s leading offensive rebounder with a 21.6% OR%. Saturday was no different, as Awaka finished with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, including five offensive boards.

But he can’t do it alone. Motiejus Krivas needs to be stronger down low. The 7-foot-2 center earned just three trips to the free throw line, where he shot 2-of-3, and turned the ball over twice. For a player of his size, with his style of play, Krivas needs to be even stronger and more aggressive around the rim.

With another lethal 3-point shooting team in BYU coming to town this week, Arizona will need to pound the paint and win the glass.

2) The Wildcats’ lack of rotational depth got exposed

For the first time this season, Arizona’s depth was limited to illness and injury, exposing the lack of options behind the Wildcats’ tight eight-man rotation. Freshman Dwanye Aristode missed his first game of the season due to illness, while fellow freshman Koa Peat suffered a lower leg injury in the first half of the game. Until now, the Wildcats have been able to stay relatively healthy, which has been both a blessing and a curse.

On the bright side, the UA arguably has eight starters, something ESPN College GameDay analyst Seth Greenberg said numerous times over the weekend. On the flip side, the rest of Arizona’s bench has next to no experience in big game moments, stretching the Wildcats incredibly thing when a player catches the flu or is sidelined with an injury.

To make matters worse, Arizona did not utilize the weapons it did have available on Saturday effectively. Ivan Kharchenkov, who has been a glue-guy and the Wildcats’ best on-ball defender, shot just 28.6% from the field, but was one of two players with a team-high 14 field goal attempts.

With injuries and illness catching up to nearly every team in the nation this week, Tommy Lloyd knows a perfect bill of health for his roster is nothing more than a dream.

“We’re all human. The season’s been long,” said Lloyd during Saturday’s postgame press conference. “If you think you’re going to go through a season unscathed, you’ve never done this before.”

The challenge now becomes how quickly players like Sidi Gueye, who pinch hit a minute in the second half for Arizona, and Evan Nelson can get some valuable experience during the Wildcats’ toughest stretch of the schedule, without sacrificing the outcome of the game.

If those players can’t get more comfortable, or Arizona can’t stay healthy down the stretch of the season, it could spell trouble for the Wildcats in March.

3) Tobe Awaka’s insightful and mature perspective

No one likes to lose. Especially twice in a row, and especially at home. If you just looked at the fanbase’s reaction on X (formerly Twitter), you’d have thought the wheels were falling off. But don’t forget about the 23 wins on the other side of the 23-2 record. And more importantly don’t forget about the pot of goal at the end of the rainbow, making the first Final Four in 25 years and securing the program’s second national championship.

So while fans jump to conclusions and talking heads start to doubt the talent of Arizona’s roster or Tommy Lloyd as a coach, we’re here to tell you, WWTB, or “What Would Tobe Do.” During Saturday’s postgame availability, we asked Tobe Awaka how as a veteran leader, he plans to steady the boat for a group of young freshmen who are getting their first taste of losing in over three months.

“I think I’ve kind of said this before, but, March is still March. You know what I mean. So, if we do what we’re supposed to do during that stretch, all this is forgotten. That’s not to say that this doesn’t sting, and home losses don’t sting. We know what the fans mean to us, and you know, just the way that they were able to pack out the stadium today and show their support, and how they’ve been showing support throughout the whole season, it’s tough. I’m not really worried about my own feelings, but there’s, you know, the effort, the energy that they put into supporting us and making sure that we feel like we have an army behind us. So, it’s really for the fans where that stings, where my heart goes out.

But in terms of the young guys, again, just keeping their perspective. We’ve lost two games, it’s onto the next. And just try not to let it snowball. Obviously we have some adversity with guys not being 100 percent, but that’s what college basketball, the season is like. It’s a long season, and you’re not you never too high for too long before you get kind of punched in the mouth. There’s a reality check. You have to galvanize and build back up again. So, I think it’s something that we were expecting, that we knew that was going to happen and that we just have to power through it.”

Arizona fans could take a page out of Tobe Awaka’s book, who is wise beyond his 22 years of age. The season is long. The story is just beginning. And losses can be great teachers.