The Arizona Wildcats entered Waco, Texas on Monday night needing a win in a big way. After an 0-2 week, they faced a rowdy Baylor Bears team who had plenty of fight. Led by Caleb Love, Tobe Awaka, and Henri Veesaar, Zona got a much-needed 74-67 road victory. Here are three key takeaways from the game.
#1 – Caleb Love is Arizona’s Ceiling
Tommy Lloyd’s team has multiple strong young players, including Estonian big man Henri Veesaar, who had a big 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks, freshman wing Carter Bryant, who had 7, 6, and 6 on the night, and guard KJ Lewis, who had 6, 4, and 3 in addition to impeccable perimeter defense. However, the tone setters have been the upperclassmen, including center Tobe Awaka, but most of all, senior guard Caleb Love.
Love has been hot-and-cold for his entire Arizona career, but his ability to be at his best is what gives Arizona a legitimate shot. His deep three-point shooting and ability to get downhill and score tough buckets are what elevate this team from a strong team to one of the nation’s best. His consistency leaves much to be desired, but when it is on, there are few in the country that can stop him – and this cascades down the rest of the roster.
Love had a team-high 14 points on Monday, and although he was only 1-7 from beyond the arc, he had several tough twos to quiet Baylor runs in the second half and 2 critical free throws at the end.
The other big-time upperclassmen is Awaka, one of the nation’s top offensive rebounders. He had 14 and 12 on the night, battling hard with Baylor’s Norchad Omier. His 4 offensive rebounds were huge, and combined with strong defense from Veesar, Arizona’s inside game is a nice compliment to their outside stuff, but Love remains the X-factor.
CALEB LOVE GOT UP 😱 pic.twitter.com/3YXwVCdq3Y
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 18, 2025
#2 – Baylor’s Inconsistency Continues to be Worrisome
Even with talented players like veteran guard Jeremy Roach, sparky junior Langston Love, and star freshman VJ Edgecombe, the Bears have too many stretches of inadequacy that are cause for concern.
To close the first half, the Bears let a slim 1 point balloon to 8 in the final four minutes, heading into halftime down 41-33. Then, to start the second half, the team needed almost 8 minutes to make their first field goal, allowing Arizona to open up a 53-39 advantage.
As talented as Edgecombe is, his lack of aggression in spots hurt the team during these low points. He has been a huge problem for every team he has faced, able to get into the lane at will and generate easy looks inside or from the charity stripe, but his unwillingness to pull the trigger in certain spots against a great defensive team hurt the unit. Edgecombe finished with 24 points on 13 shots, and although his 14 free throw attempts almost equaled the opponent’s 18 total, he frankly could and should have had more attempts.
Langston Love has been in good scoring form since returning from injury, but disappeared for a large point of the second half after beginning to show signs of life. His 9 points came on 4-10 shooting. Omier was similar, ending with 15 points but being largely absent from the game for long periods. Both Love and Edgecombe had 3 turnovers apiece.
Baylor has top-end talent like Edgecombe and Omier, but right now, the team’s lows are too low to predict great success in March.
#3 – If Defense Wins Championships, then Arizona Deserves Consideration
The Wildcats had another great defensive performance, bothering Baylor’s guards and making life tough from outside. Arizona is 32nd in effective field goal percentage allowed, and allowed the Bears to shoot just 40% as a team and a dismal 22% from deep.
Arizona’s 93.7 defensive rating is 10th in the nation, putting them among the likes of Houston, Duke, and Tennessee as one of the best defenses in the land. With rim protectors like Veesaar and Awaka and long wing defenders like Lewis, Bryant, and Jaden Bradley, they have the ability to be hyper-aggressive in pressuring the ball and generating live-ball turnovers.
Arizona’s defense has fueled their transition offense, which is also one of the tops in the country. The likes of Anthony Dell’Orso and Trey Townsend were consistently running the floor for layups throughout the game. This Arizona team has been a little under the radar due to their slow start, but they are absolutely a dark horse championship threat.
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