Arizona Wildcats Star Maintains Confidence in Team After Slow Start
The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season has not gotten off to the kind of start the Arizona Wildcats were hoping for.
A championship contender heading into the campaign, they have struggled after defeating the Canisius Golden Griffins and Old Dominion Monarchs in the first two games.
Losses against the Wisconsin Badgers and Duke Blue Devils preceded their trip to the Bahamas for the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
After defeating the Davidson Wildcats in their opener, they struggled in the following contests.
In their second game, the Wildcats lost to the Oklahoma Sooners before dropping the third-place game to the West Virginia Mountaineers in overtime.
The two latest defeats dropped Arizona to 3-4 on the season, marking the first time since 2010 they are under .500.
It certainly isn’t what anyone expected from one of the most talented teams in the nation, but they are still looking to build chemistry and cohesion with so many new rotation pieces on this roster for head coach Tommy Lloyd.
One of the players who he is relying on to carry is guard Caleb Love.
A preseason All-American, he has not had the kind of impact you would expect from a reigning Conference Player of the Year. But, he is someone that his teammates have the utmost confidence in leading them on the court.
“Every time we step on the floor we’ve got the best player in the country. That gives us the confidence to want to play," transfer guard Trey Townsend said about Love via Brian J. Pederson of Arizona Desert Swarm.
While he hasn’t looked like the best player on the floor very often yet this campaign, he began turning a corner in the Bahamas.
He scored at least 17 points in all three games after scoring in single digits against Wisconsin and Duke.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to help the Wildcats get the victories they were seeking, however, Love hasn’t lost confidence in his team, as he believes they are still capable of finding great success.
"We just gotta start having better starts to the games, to (the second half) and obviously overtime. The turnovers kind of hurt us in this game. I still believe we’re a good team. It’s early in the season, I’m not panicking. I hope my teammates and coaches aren’t panicking," he said.
Against West Virginia, they turned the ball over 14 times, giving up 24 points off those turnovers. Love was one of four Wildcats players to turn the ball over at least three times against their new Big 12 foes.
Lloyd is going to need more from his most experienced player to help get things back on track ahead of conference play.
