Three-point shooting continued to be a concern and Arizona lost 70--55 to Duke at home on Friday night. The loss was the second consecutive for Arizona for the first time under Tommy Lloyd as head coach in his fourth season. Jaden Bradley continued to be Arizona's only reliable scorer with K.J. Lewis complementing him.
Bradley scored 18 points on 8-16 from the floor and Lewis scored 12 with five rebounds. Caleb Love continued struggling going 3-13 from the floor and making 1-9 three-point attempts. Arizona shot 39.6 percent from the floor and made six of 23 three-point shots. The poor three-point shooting is a continuing trend.
Arizona entered the game 329th nationally making 27.4 percent of their three-point attempts. Arizona needed more production inside and/or additional and better penetration. Centers Motiejus Krivas and Henri Veesaar combined to score seven points with nine rebounds on 2-4 from the floor.
Duke megastar freshman Cooper Flagg scored 24 points on 10-22 from the floor and 2-5 on three-point attempts with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Freshman Kon Knueppel had 13 points on 3-6 three-point shooting with seven rebounds and three assists.
Final from McKale pic.twitter.com/YQMQkwhALa
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 23, 2024
Duke finished with a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers, a 43-30 rebounding edge with a 13-6 advantage in offensive boards, a 14-8 edge in second-chance points and outscored Arizona 12-6 in fast break points. Duke made 10 of its 26 three-point attempts for 38.5 percent.
Lloyd has a lot to examine after the two losses. Love continues to struggle. Arizona received little production from the frontline and continued to settle for three-point shots instead of penetrating. Arizona is off until Wednesday when it tips off at 5:30 PM versus Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Oklahoma and Providence are in the same half of the bracket as Arizona and Davidson. Either the Sooners or Friars will be the second opponent. Indiana plays Louisville and West Virginia goes against Gonzaga in the other Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals on Wednesday.