Arizona’s Jaden Bradley misses lead in loss to UCLA in Phoenix

Jaden Bradley and Arizona men’s basketball blew a double-digit lead over No. 24 UCLA on Saturday with a 57-54 loss at a neutral site at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns.

After trailing 24-18 in the first half, Arizona (4-5) built a 49-36 lead powered by senior Caleb Love’s only three-pointer (1 of 7) of the day. However, the Wildcats went 10:49 (1-8) off the floor in the finale and recorded seven turnovers to end another disappointing game.

Bradley was one of two Arizona players to score 10 points (12) on 4-for-7 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals for a truly all-around performance.

The junior guard set a season high in steals (five) and set a new bar for assists (six).

The use of timeouts was a factor for Arizona as there was only 8:49 left in the second half and UCLA could not be slowed down. The Bruins stormed back from a deficit of 11 to reach 52 apiece by hitting 6 of 9 attempts with five baskets from the field.

Despite outshooting the Bruins 34-24, the Wildcats managed nine fewer shot attempts (51-42) and committed eight more turnovers (22-14).

UCLA (9-1) maintained its reputation as the best defense in the country (55.1 points allowed per game) and held powerful Arizona to 54 and 2 of 16 from beyond the three-point arc. Arizona entered with an average of just over 87 points per contest.

Love, who was the Wildcats’ leading scorer with 14.1 points per game entering Saturday, was held under 10 points for the third time this season. He finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, and his dismal day from distance dropped his three-point percentage to 29.5%.

Head coach Tommy Lloyd had to rely on big man Henri Veesaar (season best: 27 minutes), while starting center Motiejus Krivas was sidelined with a left leg injury. It was the first game Krivas missed due to the injury and the Lithuanian was seen on the sidelines wearing a football boot.

Veesaar scored nine points on three of eight shooting and added seven rebounds. He did, however, manage four turnovers, a team-high for his team (Trey Townsend also had four).

Townsend, one of the Wildcats’ new additions from Oakland, was second on the team with 10 points after going 4 of 8 on offense.

The loss continued Arizona’s downward spiral after the Wildcats were ranked outside the AP Top 25 for the first time in more than three years since Dec. 2.

The Wildcats had won the last three UCLA matches under Lloyd and six of the last seven, including the 2022 and 2023 Pac-12 Championship.

The Wildcats and Bruins, now non-conference opponents in the Big 12 and Big Ten, respectively, played the first of three scheduled neutral sites. Arizona and UCLA will play in unannounced arenas in 2025 and 2027.

In a news conference Thursday, Lloyd said he and UCLA head coach Mick Cronin had discussed setting up a home series in the future similar to the existing relationship between Arizona and Duke. Lloyd joked that both programs needed a “little breather” in front of a neutral court, as neither had much success defending their own home for a while.

“I’m pretty steadfast, I think there’s an opportunity for us to really have an annual event in Phoenix that has a lot of meaning,” Lloyd said. “Of course, Phoenix is ​​our strongest and deepest alumni base, so I want to do something up there to get involved.”

Arizona is preparing for two final nonconference games against Samford (December 18) and Central Michigan (December 21) before its first Big 12 action against TCU on December 30 in Tucson.

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