Arizona Wildcats cruise to 31 point win over Northern Arizona: 3 takeaways

Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats cruised past Northern Arizona on Tuesday night, securing a 90-59 victory in a final preparation before a difficult stretch of opponents to close out the month of November.

Arizona had four players in double figures, led by 20 from Ivan Kharchenkov, and dominated nearly every facet of this game. The Wildcats had a staggering 26-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, outscored Northern Arizona 28-0 in fast break points, and shot an outstanding 29-35 (82.8%) from inside the arc.

Below is a look at three takeaways from Arizona's blowout win on Tuesday night in Tucson:

Arizona's Big 3 were unstoppable

Nov 5, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Holt (3) makes a lay up during the second half against the Cal Poly Mustangs at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Any top ranked team's best players should dominate against an opponent like this, but it was still impressive just how great Arizona's trio of Ivan Kharchenkov, Mo Krivas, and Caleb Holt looked on Tuesday night.

Kharchenkov flirted with a triple double, scoring 20 points on 7-10 shooting, while adding seven rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes. Meanwhile Krivas dropped 16 and seven on 7-9 shooting in 26 minutes, and Holt had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Holt shot a fantastic 7-8 inside the arc, although his 1-7 from the three point line could use some refinement as the year goes on.

JJ Mandaquit found his stroke, no one else did

Nov 5, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Cal Poly Mustangs forward Ali Assran (7) fails to block Arizona Wildcats guard JJ Mandaquit (23) during the second half at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

JJ Mandaquit has proven himself as a key part of Arizona's offense, stepping in as the primary ball-handler whenever he's on the floor and allowing Derek Dixon to play minutes off the ball.

Three point shooting is one of the few areas Mandaquit struggles, but that was not at all the case on Tuesday. The 6'1 sophomore shot a tidy 3-4 from beyond the arc, a big improvement from the 1-6 shooting he brought with him into this contest.

However, the rest of Arizona's outside shooting left plenty to be desired. Dixon was solid, shooting 2-5 from deep, but Arizona's non point guards combined to shoot an ugly 3-16 (18.8%) from the perimeter.

It certainly didn't have a huge impact on the outcome Tuesday night, but it remains a red flag for this team in the early part of the season.

Rough start to second half

Nov 5, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd talks to the bench during the first half against the Cal Poly Mustangs at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arizona went into the halftime locker room up 46-22, and while they ultimately cruised to an easy victory it was no thanks to how they started the second half. NAU came out firing in the second, outscoring Arizona 20-13 and shooting a blistering 7-10 from the field, 2-3 from three, and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the first eight minutes of the second half.

The Wildcats were still efficient on offense, and never let the Lumberjacks get all the way back in it, but it was a tad discouraging to see the team let off the gas to begin the second half - something that will haunt them later this season if it becomes a trend.

Arizona has a tough end to November, starting with a true road game against the Auburn Tigers on Friday, Nov. 13. The game will tip at 7:00 PM MST and is set to be broadcast on ESPN2.

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