Three BOLD Observations From No. 13 Arizona's Win Over No. 3 Florida
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Unlike previous seasons under head coach Tommy Lloyd, No. 13 Arizona has a roster filled with underclassmen as the team welcomed in seven true freshmen from its recruiting class that finished No. 2 nationally according to 24/7 Sports recruiting database.
The Wildcats faced off against defending national champs No. 3 Florida in a neutral-site class of the titans. Arizona rolled out a starting lineup featuring point guard Jaden Bradley, guard Brayden Burries, guard/forward Ivan Kharchenkov, forward Koa Peat and center Motiejus Krivas.
That young lineup that featured three freshmen were able to stay stride-for-stride against the Gators even after falling behind by double-digits early in the game. Arizona managed to pull off the opening night upset 93-87 over Florida.
With the game all wrapped up, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have come up with our three observations from the game following the Wildcats’ impressive win over the Gators.
Three Observations
3-Point Shooting
- Coming into the season, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Wildcats has been where will the 3-point buckets come for the 2025-26 Arizona team?
- Well, the main option that comes to mind is Dell’Orso. However, against Florida, he struggled and went 0-for-2 while scoring eight points.
- As a team, the Wildcats went 2 of 5 from the 3-point line, which marks the first time a team has beaten a Top 5 opponent goes back to Feb. 2, 1998 when No. 2 North Carolina beat No. 1 Duke 97-73.
BANGGGGGG🔥 Cats lead 47-42 with 2:23 left in the first half pic.twitter.com/lWgRglsSqW
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025
- The only two made 3-point shots in the game came from Kharchenkov, who went an impressive 2-for-2 picking the right time to take his shot from beyond the arc.
Free Throw Shooting
- Throughout the exhibition portion of the season, Arizona struggled at the free throw line shooting 62% on 58 attempts. During that stretch, Lloyd stated several times that things would turn around for the team in those situations.
- On Monday night, Arizona was able to get to the free throw line 38 times and shot 82%, which made a massive difference in the game against the Gators.
- What is key about this stat is that Bradley, who had the ball in his hands a large majority down the final stretch of the game, shot 9 of 10 from the line. When your lead guard can put games away at the line, that is an advantage when March rolls around.
Brayden Burries
- One of the better freshmen at the guard position in the whole 2025 recruiting class is Burries, who looked like a complete three-level scorer in the Wildcats’ exhibition games.
- However, on Monday night, Buries struggled from the opening tip, recording just three points while going 1 of 6 from the field in 17 minutes of action. Plus, he fouled out of the game leaving the Wildcats down a key ball handler down the final stretch.
Arizona showed a lot of potential on Monday night with its upset win over Florida but does have a few areas to work on after game No. 1 of the long college basketball season.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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