What Arizona Must Improve On Before Facing UConn
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The No. 4-ranked Arizona Wildcats won their second-ranked game of the young season, beating the No. 15 UCLA Bruins at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, pushing them to a 4-0 record in a physical, gritty game that saw both teams trade blows.
In that game, Arizona went on a 15-6 run late in the second half and knocked down its last four field goals to finish with a 69-65 score, displaying its toughness and mental fortitude when playing in close contests.
A hard-fought victory such as the one against the Bruins is just what the Wildcats needed to build off before they hit the road to play yet another ranked matchup against the No. 3 UConn Huskies in Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
The Huskies breezed through their first three opponents, but barely escaped with a win against the No. 9 BYU Cougars in a Hall of Fame Series game at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, this past Saturday.
𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗦 vs UCLA ⏯️ pic.twitter.com/f7AKb3YGfZ
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 16, 2025
UConn will be the toughest challenge that the young Wildcats have faced in the early portion of the season and will most likely give them a fight to the final sound of the buzzer.
Before Arizona travels to Mansfield, CT, it must improve on three areas of its game to have the best chance of coming out with its third win over a ranked opponent of the season.
Start out faster
The Wildcats were able to go on scoring runs to secure a win against Florida and UCLA, but have also gone on scoring droughts during portions of those games to fall behind and were forced to play much harder to get back in the lead.
Against UCLA, Arizona got into a 15-5 deficit in the first seven minutes of the first half. Against Utah Tech, the Wildcats went down 9-5 in the first four minutes of that game. With 12 minutes to go in the first half against Florida, Arizona was in a 24-12 deficit before clawing its way back.
Arizona must get off to much faster starts before it finds itself in too large a deficit to come back from.
Increase 3-point percentage
If Arizona wants to come out of its next game with a win, it must improve on its 3-point shooting, which was displayed against UCLA this past Friday.
FEAR THE BEARD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZD4tdYrFwA
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 15, 2025
By the end of that game, the Wildcats went 6-for-19 from beyond the arc, which is 31.6%. The freshman phenom Brayden Burries continued to go through growing pains by going 1-for-6 himself. Much of that was due to the UCLA defense forcing Arizona to take deep shots by not allowing many point-scoring opportunities in the paint.
The BYU Cougars had the same problem with UConn, going 8-for-26 through two halves played, so improving the accuracy of shots taken for three points is something the Wildcats must address before they play the Huskies.
Avoid scoring droughts
What kept the Bruins in the game and allowed them to take the lead a multitude of times was the Wildcats' offense going on scoring droughts during portions of the game.
With 15 minutes left in the second half and up 45-40, Arizona was unable to make a basket, which allowed UCLA to get back in the lead with a 49-45 score.
Utah Tech was able to do the same in the first half of their game with Arizona, going on a 9-0 run to go up by four points. Later on, they also went on a 9-2 run to cut Arizona's lead down to seven points with 1:30 minutes remaining in the half.
UConn will look to take advantage of Arizona's scoring droughts and attempt to get into a huge lead that will be difficult to come back from.
Tell us what you think Arizona must improve on prior to its meeting with UConn on Wednesday by commenting on our X account. Just click the link to find us and be sure to give us a follow.
Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.