While the Lithuanian B team and UCLA Bruins probably dont have a whole lot in common, there is one thing.
They both beat Arizona after the Wildcats had been showered with external praise for months.
Facing their first opponent after making their first Final Four in 25 years, the Wildcats lost to a clearly motivated Lithuanian B team in an August exhibition.
They rebounded to beat the Ukrainian and Lithuanian senior national teams, showing what UA coach Tommy Lloyd called an awesome response. The Wildcats then returned home and enjoyed a two-month period in which they took some time off, restarted practices and became the No. 5 team in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll.
Also, center Motiejus Krivas was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, while he, UA forward Ivan Kharchenkov and guard Caleb Holt were named to positional award watch lists and projected as NBA Draft lottery picks in a CBS mock draft.
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Like it or not, they were bathing in hype again.
That made it easier for UCLA coach Mick Cronin to talk about how well the No. 22-ranked Bruins did in beating the Wildcats 84-75 on Monday in Las Vegas its massive, he said but the high-profile victory also scared him a bit.
I dont know where theyre ranked, Cronin said of the Wildcats and, when he was told UA was ranked fifth, immediately began fretting.
So now, everybodys going to tell these guys how good they are, Cronin said of his players. You got to stay humble. You got to stay hungry. You got to maintain humility.
If so, then maybe its no surprise that the Wildcats best player Monday expressed a little humility.
I just tried to figure out what defense they were playing, said Ivan Kharchenkov, who dumped 38 points on the Bruins. I was gonna take (shots) the most efficient way, coach called a couple plays for me, and I just got going early.
I had a lot of easy points, fast forward layups, running, just giving it up for the team. It just kept going and going. But it could be literally anyone else in that position.
Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov dribbles past San Diego State guard Chance Gladden during an exhibition game at McKale Center on Oct. 16, 2026.
Whether they lacked humility, confidence, or just plain luck, Kharchenkovs teammates struggled offensively. The rest of them shot just 25% from the field, with Caleb Holt shooting 2 for 7, Krivas taking just four shots, Bryce James going 0 for 3 and point guards Derek Dixon and JJ Mandaquit combining to shoot 6 for 23.
However, Dixon hit 4 of 9 3-pointers in the second half while Arizona cut what was a 16-point deficit to just one point, and Mandaquit dished six assists without a turnover while making 1 of 6 shots.
JJ's getting better, he's getting more in rhythm with us, and he's a scrapper, Lloyd said. Hes a winner. He really stepped up and managed that game when we had a lot of foul problems. I didn't know if I expected that many minutes from him, but he stepped up and he played well. He's going to be a key component to everything we do this season.
Replacing the leadership and clutch play of the departed Jaden Bradley was never expected to be easy for Dixon, a sophomore transfer from North Carolina. But in the first half of the first regular-season game he played for the Wildcats, Dixon missed all five shots he took and had two turnovers without an assist.
Then Dixon found his shot, hitting two straight 3-pointers to pull the Wildcats within 62-56 with about nine minutes left to help shift the momentum of the game. He finished shooting 5 of 17 from the field.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd talks with guards Derek Dixon (7) and JJ Mandaquit (23) during the second half against San Diego State, McKale Center at Alkeme Arena, Oct. 16, 2026
Derek didn't look great there for a stretch, but then he looked really good, Lloyd said. Hes been a really good player for us since he arrived in the summer. and I'm not going to change my opinion based off a half a basketball. Hes a really good player, and the more time we get with him, the more comfortable he gets in an Arizona uniform, the more I think we're going to see great results.
Lloyd expressed similar sentiment about Holt and fellow freshman wing Cameron Holmes, who missed both shots he took.
Its welcome to college basketball, Lloyd said of his freshmen. I told our guys what happens today is not going to define our teams season, and it's not going to define your individual season. You just have to understand that, and you got to keep it moving. You got to get on to the next one.
We're going to stay committed to to each other in our locker room, and understand that we've all made a decision to be on this journey together. We're going to try to make it the best experience we can.
The Wildcats dont have much time to figure it all out before the schedule turns dramatically tougher again. They will host Cal Poly on Thursday and NAU on Tuesday before they travel to face Auburn on Nov. 13, host UConn five days later and then take off for the three-games-in-three-days madness of the Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week.
In his typical style after a loss, Lloyd expressed zero panic about whatever is ahead. There are 31 regular-season games to go, after all, and a lot more practices in between them.
I'm ready to move forward and just get better, Lloyd said. I feel like this can be a great catalyst for us. Weve got to take advantage of that.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
