Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas Steady Arizona After Opening Stumble

Seven days after walking off the T-Mobile Arena floor stung by an opening-night loss despite pouring in 38 points, sophomore forward Ivan Kharchenkov orchestrated a clinic inside McKale Center on Tuesday night, tallying 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists on 7-of-10 shooting as No. 12 Arizona routed Northern Arizona 90-59. Combined with Thursday’s 104-84 demolition of Cal Poly, head coach Tommy Lloyd’s club has swiftly steadied the ship at 2-1.

Context matters enormously in early November: the UCLA squad that beat Arizona 84-75 in Las Vegas promptly vaulted to No. 9 in the nation, softening any panic around Tucson’s drop from No. 5 to No. 12 in the AP poll. Still respected by oddsmakers as the Big 12’s shortest championship favorite at +2000 ahead of No. 8 Houston (+2500), Arizona enters Friday’s road trip to Auburn armed with elite interior efficiency.

Ivan Kharchenkov Plays Like an Early National Player of the Year Candidate

Across Arizona’s opening three games, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Kharchenkov has been a one-man wrecking crew at all three levels. In the Las Vegas lid-lifter against UCLA, he single-handedly kept Tucson within striking distance during an icy perimeter shooting night, exploding for 38 points and 10 rebounds across 38 minutes on 12-of-20 field-goal shooting and 12-of-15 at the free-throw stripe. Rather than forcing hero-ball shots upon returning to McKale Center, Kharchenkov seamlessly shifted into point-forward mode—posting 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists vs. Cal Poly followed by 20 points, seven boards, and seven helpers vs. Northern Arizona.

Do the math across 97 minutes: Kharchenkov is averaging 24.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 24-of-41 (58.5 percent) from the floor. His blend of bully-ball drives, defensive rebounding, and live-dribble vision makes Lloyd’s signature high-low offense hum whenever defenses overplay passing lanes.

Motiejus Krivas and Caleb Holt Unleash 65 Percent Two-Point Thunder

When UCLA packed the lane in the opener and dared Arizona to shoot over the top, 7-foot-2, 260-pound senior center Motiejus Krivas attempted only four shots (finishing with eight points and nine rebounds). Three nights later against Cal Poly, Lloyd force-fed the giant Lithuanian pivot early and often, and Krivas responded with a career-defining 30 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes on 10-of-13 shooting and 10-of-12 foul shooting, before adding 16 points and seven boards on 7-of-9 shooting against Northern Arizona (18.0 PPG on 73.1 percent shooting!).

Joining Kharchenkov and Krivas as an instant star is 6-foot-5, 215-pound freshman guard Caleb Holt, who bounced back from a 2-for-7 debut against UCLA to drop 21 points and eight rebounds (8-of-13 FG) vs. Cal Poly and 17 points with five boards vs. Northern Arizona. Fueled by that trio, Arizona has converted 76 of 117 2-point shots—a blistering 65.0 percent clip inside the arc—while posting a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (20.3 assists vs. 10.0 turnovers per game, including 26 assists and just six turnovers Tuesday night!) and 76.9 percent free-throw shooting.

Perimeter Shooting Variance and RJ Godfrey’s Eligibility Fight

Two variables explain why Arizona dropped its opener before rolling up 194 points across two home blowouts. First is 3-point variance: the Wildcats are shooting just 27.5 percent from beyond the arc early (19-of-69 across three games, 6.3 makes on 23.0 attempts), dragged down by 7-of-30 vs. UCLA and 4-of-14 vs. Cal Poly before going 8-of-25 Tuesday. Sophomore guard Derek Dixon—who hit four threes during an 18-point effort against UCLA and added 12 points (2-of-5 from deep) vs. Northern Arizona—alongside sophomore starter Bryce James and freshman Cameron Holmes (13 points vs. Cal Poly) give Tucson the stroke to push that clip past 35 percent.

Second is frontcourt rotation depth while 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior forward RJ Godfrey remains sidelined off the active floor pursuing a lawsuit and preliminary injunction against the Arizona Board of Regents seeking clearance for a fifth year of eligibility. Until any legal ruling alters Godfrey’s status, Lloyd is leaning on 6-foot-10 freshman Maksim Brnovic, 6-foot-11 seniors Evan Otten and Ugnius Jarusevicius, and sophomore point guard JJ Mandaquit (six assists in 32 minutes vs. UCLA) to bridge bench minutes.

Neville Arena, No. 4 UConn, Maui, and MSG Test Tucson’s Grit

True to Lloyd’s fearless scheduling ethos, Arizona’s nonconference slate reads like an Elite Eight bracket before Christmas. This Friday night (November 13), No. 12 Arizona walks into one of college basketball’s loudest cauldrons for a road clash against Auburn inside Neville Arena—an immediate test of how Krivas and Holt handle SEC physicality away from Tucson.

Five nights later on November 18, the Wildcats return to McKale Center to host No. 4 UConn in a titanic intersectional showdown, before jetting to Lahaina Civic Center to open Maui action against Colorado State on November 23 and visiting Madison Square Garden on December 5 to face No. 13 St. John’s. Battle-testing this lineup across Auburn, UConn, Lahaina, and New York prepares Tucson ideally for a 16-team Big 12 race featuring No. 8 Houston, No. 15 Kansas, No. 16 Texas Tech, and No. 23 BYU.

2027 Championship Verdict: Why Oddsmakers Still Trust Tucson

Poll voters understandably docked Arizona seven spots after losing to then-No. 22 UCLA, yet UCLA’s subsequent leap into the top 10 confirms that opening-night setback was merely a heavyweight toss-up where Tucson shot 23.3 percent from three. Over the past 80 minutes at McKale Center, Arizona has dished out 48 assists against 19 turnovers while shooting over 69 percent inside the arc.

Once Dixon, Kharchenkov, and Holt normalize Arizona’s perimeter accuracy above 34 percent—and especially if Krivas stays out of foul trouble against UConn and Auburn—Tucson owns a dominant inside-out blueprint capable of capturing the Big 12 and cutting down nets in March and April 2027.