Arizona Wildcats Still Have One Glaring Issue Heading Into Big 12 Play

Arizona will need to improve offensively if it wants to be the team it was expected to be.

Dec 18, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) shoots a three pointer during the second half against the Samford Bulldogs at McKale Center / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

It hasn't been an ideal start to the season for Arizona.

While they don't have any bad losses yet, it has lost games they should have won.

Fortunately, Big 12 play hasn't started, and if this team figures it out heading into its first conference game against TCU on Monday night, things should still be just fine.

The Wildcats' wins aren't great, perhaps the biggest issue they face when trying to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, however, playing in the Big 12 and facing multiple top 10 teams and other ranked opponents over the next two-and-a-half months gives them many opportunities to improve its resume.

With how Arizona has played in its first 11 games, it's tough to say things will change, though.

The Wildcats offense hasn't been great, and their 3-point shooting is a major issue.

Arizona doesn't need to be elite from deep, but it needs to be much better than it's been early on.

Heading into Big 12 play, Brian J. Pedersen of SB Nation views Arizona's offense as their biggest issue so far, ranking them No. 7 in the conference.

"Arizona has put together a resume that could best be described as the printed version of the Larry David shrugging meme. The Wildcats don't have any bad losses, with all five defeats coming to top 50 teams, but they also haven't beaten anyone of significance. Samford is probably the only NCAA Tournament team they've knocked off, and that's not saying much. The UA is 33rd in adjusted offensive efficiency, which isn't terrible, but it is on pace to be the worst since 2019-20 and ranks 7th among Big 12 schools."

If Arizona doesn't end up shooting the basketball as it needs to, the Wildcats will need much more from Caleb Love.

There have been some concerning trends with his performances against good opponents.

In Arizona's loss to UCLA, he shot 3-10 from the field and 1-7 from 3-point range, and against West Virginia, he shot 9-20 from the field. In their loss to Oklahoma, Love was 7-18, and against Duke, he was 3-13.

The Wildcats won't win games with him playing at that level against competent opponents, so while there are other issues this team has, Love is the one who needs to step up.

Him playing better could be all the Wildcats need to get back on track.