'It's Where You Want To Be': Las Vegas Clash Brings Indiana, Arizona Together For First Time

The Las Vegas Clash features a top-15 matchup between the Indiana Hoosiers and Arizona Wildcats on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Las Vegas Clash represents a number of firsts.

The first meeting between Indiana and Arizona will also be the first ever primetime college basketball game on FOX. This top-15 matchup will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. 

"It's where you want to be," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. "You want to put your program on the map and in order to put your program on the map, you've got to get a lot of eyes on your program."

In his second year at Arizona, Lloyd brings the nation's 10th-ranked team to Las Vegas to face No. 14 Indiana and coach Mike Woodson, also in his second year. Since taking the job, Woodson has emphasized his desire to play challenging non-conference matchups, and Lloyd agrees.

"You want to build a schedule that helps develop your team," Lloyd said. "And part of developing your team is building confidence and challenging your team, so you want to play in matchups like this."

Lloyd took the Arizona job last season after 20 years as an assistant under coach Mark Few at Gonzaga, and Wildcats went 33-4 in year one. Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles to earn a No. 1 seed, but was upset by five-seed Houston in the Sweet 16. Despite losing NBA Draft picks Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko, Arizona appears primed for another impressive season. 

The Wildcats emerged as champions in a loaded Maui Invitational field, defeating Cincinnati, San Diego State and Creighton. Similar to Indiana's 63-48 loss at Rutgers, Arizona had a letdown after the Creighton win, suffering an 81-66 loss at Utah to move to 6-1.

"You can see maybe both us and Indiana got off to a good start and then we both played road games against pretty good teams that are gritty and knew us well, and I think you saw us both struggle," Lloyd said. "I think you're seeing that across the board in college basketball."

Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa averages 12.8 points, 7.8 assists and runs the nation's second-highest scoring offense at 91.5 points per game. Next to Kriisa is Texas guard transfer Courtney Ramey, who's 15-for-30 from 3-point range. 

But Arizona's real strength is found in the post with 6-foot-11 Azuolas Tubelis and 7-foot Oumar Ballo, who combine for 39.2 points and 17.6 rebounds per game. 

Oumar Ballo can’t be stopped 😤 pic.twitter.com/aOn0BZb5Ur

— SLAM University (@slam_university) November 23, 2022

The Wildcats rebounded with an 81-68 win over 0-9 California and now have six days off before playing against the Hoosiers. Lloyd called Trayce Jackson-Davis "the driving force" for Indiana, and he'll have Arizona's full attention on Saturday.

"He's a really, really good player," Lloyd said of Jackson-Davis. "He's really impressive. He's got experience now. He's got tons of talent, and he's got great hands and he's got quick twitch. He's got a lot of the attributes, and he's left handed, which is a challenge. We're just going to go in there and battle."

Lloyd can see the Hoosiers' comfort level growing in year two under Woodson, which creates a great opportunity to for his team to compete. Lloyd said he grew up  admiring Indiana like a lot of aspiring coaches, and his favorite basketball movie is "Hoosiers." 

Despite the historic success of both programs, Indiana and Arizona will share the same court for the first time on Saturday. For Lloyd, it's a chance to build toward another top seed come Selection Sunday.

"It's a great opportunity for both of us and both of our fanbases," Lloyd said. "And I'm sure that arena in Vegas is going to be electric."

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