Will Bryce James start again? 3 things to watch in Arizona vs. San Diego State
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Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats will take the floor at the McKale Center for a second exhibition game this week, squaring off against the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday evening.
The game comes just three days after the Wildcats took care of business against San Francisco on Tuesday, 93-69, behind 20 points from Mo Krivas, 18 from Ivan Kharchenkov, and 17 from Caleb Holt.
Now Arizona will take on a new look San Diego State team under Brian Dutcher, who led the Aztecs to a national championship appearance in 2023.
This figures to be another great test for Arizona's newcomers, while the team continues to figure out how to fill in the gap at power forward with RJ Godfrey currently ineligible.
Below is discussion on that issue and other things to watch on Friday night when the action tips off at 7:00 PM MST on ESPN+.
1. Does Bryce James start again?
The first big surprise of the 2026-27 season came at the start of Arizona's exhibition game against San Francisco when Bryce James - not Cameron Holmes, JJ Mandaquit, or Maksim Brnovic - took the floor alongside Derek Dixon, Caleb Holt, Ivan Kharchenkov, and Mo Krivas in the starting lineup.
James hit a three 30 seconds later for the first points of the game, ultimately finishing the contest with those three points on 1-3 shooting, along with one steal in 14 minutes.
“I didn’t want to overthink it," Lloyd said of starting James. "Bryce has had a good fall for us and continues to grow as a player, and I think starting Bryce, I just felt like kind of maybe puts the rotation in the right way and maybe have some good impactful guys coming off the bench. I just kind of wanted to see how that looked and felt today."
Lloyd stressed the starting lineup could continue to be tinkered with during the exhibition slate, especially while projected starting forward RJ Godfrey remains ineligible. It's also worth noting James was eighth on the team in minutes, with Holmes, Mandaquit, and Brnovic all outplaying him on Tuesday against the Dons.
2. More run for Evan Otten
A bevy of new frontcourt players took the floor for Arizona on Tuesday vs. USF in Maksim Brnovic, Ugnius Jarusevicius, and Evan Otten, who played 15, nine, and six minutes, respectively.
However, Otten could push his way into a bigger role as soon as Friday, with coach Lloyd indicating the Idaho State transfer is still recovering from a leg injury that kept him out of the team's Red-Blue Showcase in late September.
"Evan is fine," Lloyd said on Tuesday. "He hopefully, maybe next game, he can get a little bit more run. He’s done a good job and is starting to make progress."
Otten is a 6'11 junior who led the Big Sky in blocks per game each of his first two seasons. He's not much of a scorer, but his rim protection carries a lot of value on this roster behind Krivas - and it wouldn't be a surprise to see a bigger run from the big man on Friday against SDSU.
3. How do guards handle more physical opponent?
San Francisco plays a decently physical brand of basketball, something Arizona adjusted to nicely on Tuesday night. But they'll have an even more physical opponent waiting for them on Friday in San Diego State - who has long played a physical, defensive brand of basketball under coach Brian Dutcher.
Dixon and Mandaquit are both sophomores while Holt and Holmes are freshmen, and this young backcourt will be tested plenty in Big 12 play against physical, defensive focused guards. Getting experience against that in the preseason is extremely valuable for coach Lloyd's team - part of what makes this matchup with the Aztecs so appealing.
The action gets underway at 7:00 PM MST on Friday, Oct. 16. The game 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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