Arizona pulls away in physical 82-67 exhibition win over San Diego State
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Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats battled a physical San Diego State squad in an exhibition showdown on Friday night, ultimately escaping the McKale Center with an 82-67 victory.
Arizona is now 2-0 in the exhibition slate, with one final game next Friday at home against Eastern Washington.
Arizona's brutal first half offensively allowed San Diego State to lead for nearly five full minutes, but Arizona finished the half strong and took care of business in the final 20, led by star returners Mo Krivas (17 points, 15 rebounds) and Ivan Kharchenkov (13 points, 12 rebounds).
It was quite a fight from the Aztecs. Even when it looked like Arizona had this game in the bag, San Diego State did not go quietly. A rapid fire 8-0 run in under two minutes turned a 19 point lead into 11, forcing Lloyd to take a timeout with 5:56 left in the game. Then Arizona had an ugly 1-11 stretch in the final few minutes before a Caleb Holt floater with 1:20 to go gave the Wildcats a 79-63 lead.
Below is a look at three key takeaways for Arizona after their second exhibition win of the week:
1. Maksim Brnovic has real upside
As long as RJ Godfrey remains ineligible, Arizona will have to find help at the power forward position. Lithuanian freshman Maksim Brnovic has long been considered the likely beneficiary, and he looked every bit the part on Friday against the Aztecs.
In 19 minutes Brnovic finished with 10 points on 4-6 shooting, including 2-3 from three, while snatching four rebounds. He had a steal and a two handed transition dunk in the first half, and the outside shooting really opened up the lane for Krivas, Kharchenkov, and the rest of the Wildcats offense.
The 6'10 big man is still quite raw, and will need to work on avoiding fouls so he can stay on the floor, but the upside is very apparent - and there's a good chance he's asked to contribute heavily without Godfrey in the mix.
2. Arizona was plenty willing to shoot from three
Last year Arizona was one of the most infrequent three point shooting teams in the country, although they were efficient when they did let it fly.
Friday was the exact opposite for the Wildcats, at least in the first half. Arizona was very willing to take what San Diego State was giving them, but finished the first 20 minutes a putrid 3-17 from beyond the arc.
That didn't stop them in the second half, but fortunately they started finding the bottom of the net - going 6-17 to finish a respectable 9-34 on the night.
This team is very likely going to shoot more than last year's squad, but if we see many more 3-17 halves that could change, quickly.
3. Mo Krivas is a machine
It's not every game the best player on the floor finishes 3-10 from the field, but that's what Mo Krivas pulled off Friday night. The big man was a monster on both ends of the floor, finishing with a game-high 17 points and 15 rebounds - six offensive - along with four blocks and two steals in 29 minutes.
Krivas did most of his damage offensively at the stripe, where he shot a ridiculous 11-14 and contributed to both Elzie Harrington and Luca Vincini fouling out for the Aztecs.
He was even better defensively, altering what seemed like hundreds of shots at the rim, even blocking a fadeaway jumper in a performance showcasing why he's a Defensive Player of the Year favorite.
Lloyd challenged Krivas after the San Francisco exhibition on Tuesday, and the Lithuanian senior more than answered the call Friday night against San Diego State.
Arizona has a full week before hosting Eastern Washington on Friday, Oct. 23 for the final exhibition game of the season. Wildcats vs. Eagles will tip at 7:00 PM MST and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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Andy Patton is a college basketball writer with deep ties to both Gonzaga and Arizona. A Gonzaga alumnus who graduated in 2013, he has hosted the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021 and has co-hosted the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. His years covering the Bulldogs have also given him extensive familiarity with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent more than two decades on Mark Few’s staff at Gonzaga before taking over the Wildcats in 2021. Andy has worked in sports media since 2017, with experience covering nearly every major sport. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for USA TODAY from 2017–21, where he also spent time covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and previously served as lead writer for College Sports Wire. He has also covered the NBA, NHL and MLB for various TEGNA outlets, including KREM in Spokane, 12News in Phoenix and KING 5 in Seattle. Andy now lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, daughter and dog.
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