The 2023–24 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by Tommy Lloyd, in his third season as head coach. It was the Wildcats' 50th season at the on-campus McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. It was their 45th and final season as members of the Pac-12 Conference. The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 14,392 in 16 games in 2023–24.
Previous season
In Lloyd's second season, The Wildcats finished the 2022–23 season at 28–7, 14–6 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie for second place. Arizona went 15–2 at home, 6–3 on the road, and 7–1 at neutral sites. The Wildcats won the school's ninth conference tournament title. Arizona received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. They lost to No. 15 seed Princeton in the First Round.
Offseason Coaching staff changes The Wildcats had no coaching staff changes.
Departures Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled in October 2020 that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player, thus giving all players the option to return in 2022–23. Additionally, any players who have declared for the 2023 NBA draft—including seniors, who must opt into this year's draft—have the option to return if they make a timely withdrawal from the draft and end any pre-draft relationships with agents. Thus, separate lists will initially be maintained for confirmed and potential departures.
Arizona Wildcats DeparturesNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes Ben Ackerley 21 G 6’3” 170 lbs Junior Seattle, WA Walk-on; transferred to Everett Community College Adama Bal 2 G 6’6” 190 lbs Junior Le Mans, France transferred to Santa Clara Cedric Henderson Jr. 45 G/F 6’6” 200 lbs Grad Senior Memphis, TN Completed college eligibility Kerr Kriisa 25 PG 6’3” 180 lbs Senior Tartu, Estonia transferred to West Virginia Luc Krystkowiak 42 G 6’6” 195 lbs Junior Salt Lake City, UT Walk-on; transferred to Cal State San Marcos Matthew Lang 23 G 6’3” 185 lbs Grad Senior Portland, OR Completed college eligibility Jordan Mains 22 F 6’6” 200 lbs Senior Scottsdale, AZ Completed college eligibility Courtney Ramey 0 G 6’3” 185 lbs Grad Senior St. Louis, MO Completed college eligibility Ąžuolas Tubelis 10 F 6’11” 245 lbs Senior Vilnius, Lithuania Declared for the 2023 NBA draft Tautvilas Tubelis 20 F 6’7” 220 lbs Senior Vilnius, Lithuania no longer on scholarship. Still with team as a manager.Reference:
Acquisitions
Incoming transfers Arizona incoming transfers Jaden Bradley 0 PG 6’3”, 185 lbs Sophomore Rochester, NY transferred from Alabama 3 May 3, 2023 Keshad Johnson 16 PF 6’7”, 225 lbs Graduate Oakland, CA transferred from San Diego State 1 May 20, 2023 Caleb Love 2 PG 6’4”, 200 lbs Senior St. Louis, MO transferred from North Carolina 2 May 30, 2023 Reference:
Recruiting classes 2023 recruiting class
2024 recruiting class
2024 overall class rankings ESPN -- -- 0 4 4 On3 Recruits 4 2 -- 4 4 Rivals 4 1 0 4 4 247 Sports 2 1 -- 4 4
Walk-ons Name Position Height/Weight Class Hometown School Jackson Cook Guard 6’2”, 185 lbs Freshman Oxford, England Montverde (FL) Will Kuykendall Guard 6’3”, 175 lbs Sophomore Santa Maria, CA St. Joseph (CA)
Red and Blue game The annual Red-Blue game took place at McKale Center on Friday September 29 at 7:30 p.m. Before the game started, the team participated in the three-point shooting contest in which Filip Borovićanin defeated Caleb Love in the finals with a score of 18. After the competition of the three-point contest, Jaden Bradley, Keshad Johnson, Pelle Larsson & KJ Lewis competed in a dunk contest. Lewis defeated Johnson in the finals with a score of 39 out of a possible 40 points. Arizona women's basketball coach Adia Barnes, former Arizona Wildcat and NBA players Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson & Andre Iguodala were the judges.
The team was then split into two teams: Red and Blue, with the Blue team defeating the Red team 60−48. Oumar Ballo leading the blue team in scoring with 18 points. Keshad Johnson was the leading scorer for the red team with 13 points.
Preseason
Preseason rankings October 11 – Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day in Las Vegas.
Pac-12 media poll 1. Arizona 303 (18) 2. USC 264 (4) 3. UCLA 249 (4) 4. Oregon 228 5. Colorado 210 6. Arizona State 148 7. Utah 139 8. Stanford 131 9. Washington 108 10. Washington State 94 11. California 67 12. Oregon State 42 Source:
Preseason All-conference teams
Preseason All Pac-12 team (1st)Oumar BalloC Sr.Preseason All Pac-12 team (2nd)Kylan BoswellGSo. Caleb LoveSr.Preseason All Pac-12 team (Honorable Mention)Pelle LarssonGSr.
Source:
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Jerry West AwardCaleb LoveSGSrNaismith TrophyOlson AwardKarl Malone AwardKeshad JohnsonPFKareem Abdul-Jabbar AwardOumar BalloC SrJohn R. Wooden AwardNaismith Trophy
Personnel
Roster Note: Players' year is based on remaining eligibility. The NCAA did not count the 2020–21 season towards eligibility.
Source:
Depth chart
Schedule
!colspan=12 style=| Arizona Summer Tour
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Source:
Game summaries This section will be filled in as the season progresses.
Source:
vs Israel Select (Arizona Summer Tour)
United Arab Emirates All-Star Team (Arizona Summer Tour)
Lebanon (Arizona Summer Tour)
Lewis–Clark(exhibition)
New Mexico Highlands (exhibition)
Morgan State
at Duke
Southern
Belmont
UT-Arlington
vs Michigan State
Colgate
Wisconsin
Purdue
vs Alabama
vs Florida Atlantic
at California
at Stanford
Colorado
Utah
at Washington State
USC
UCLA (Rivalry)
at Oregon State
at Oregon
California
Stanford
at Utah
at Colorado
Arizona State
Washington State
Washington
at Arizona State
Oregon
at UCLA (Rivalry)
at USC
USC (Pac-12 Quarterfinal)
Oregon(Pac-12 Semifinal)
Long Beach State (round of 64)
Dayton (round of 32)
Clemson (Sweet Sixteen)
Awards and honors
Weekly honors Kylan BoswellPac-12 Player of the Week 15.0 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 3.0 Assists Week 1 November 13, 2023 Oumar Ballo 14.5 Points, 16.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 1.5 Steals, 1.0 Block Week 7 December 26, 2023 Caleb Love 19.5 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 3.5 Assists Week 9 January 8, 2024 Pelle Larsson 22.5 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 5.0 Assists, 2.5 Steals Week 14 February 12, 2024
Midseason awards watchlists Midseason award honors John R. Wooden Award Caleb Love PG Lute Olson AwardJerry West AwardKarl Malone AwardKeshad JohnsonPF
Final awards watchlists Final award honors Jerry West Award Caleb Love PG John R. Wooden Award
Postseason
Conference honors Caleb Love Pac-12 Player of the Year & Pac-12 First Team 18.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.2 SPG Pac-12 First Team Oumar Ballo 13.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG Pelle Larsson Pac-12 Second Team 13.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG
National awards
National award honors NABC &USBWA 2nd Team All-American Caleb Love G Associated Press & Sporting News 3rd Team All-American Sources:
Rankings
See also 2023–24 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
References