ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

When they lose, they get to go home.

“You’re done,� Lloyd said. “You don’t play two more games.�

That’s not the case with the Maui Invitational or Battle 4 Atlantis, the high-profile early season events that put eight teams through a three-games-in-three-days grinder every Thanksgiving week, no matter how they do.

While that worked out well for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in 2022-23, when the Wildcats strung together three wins to leave Maui with leis and a trophy, UA last week lost in its second Battle 4 Atlantis game to Oklahoma and its third game in overtime to West Virginia.

“I’m done with a game, and you’re emotional. You’ve got to take a breath,� Lloyd said. “And then you know what? It’s `Oh, my God. In 16 hours we play West Virginia. What are we going to do?’

“That’s literally what it is. You’re up late, then you get up early and at the end of those three days you’re exhausted. It just takes a lot out of you.�

It keeps following you, too. Lloyd returned home on Saturday with a full week between games before the Wildcats host Southern Utah on Saturday, and couldn’t help but relive the entire experience via video review.

“Every game, one by one, possession by possession,� Lloyd said. “Yes, sir, I did.�

By Friday, when Lloyd held his weekly press conference inside McKale, the experience appeared to finally be digested, among UA coaches and possibly players alike.

He said there were a lot of meetings over the past week — team, individual and coaches meetings — with the time allowing everyone to “detach from the emotional aspect of it� and look into what really happened.

Here’s what Lloyd said he found.

Porous defense

Their defense was porous, both inside and out.

UA allowed 35 3-pointers over three Atlantis games, with its opponents connecting at a 36.1% rate from 3-point range and a 44.0% rate from 2-point range

Part of it was a result of schemes, Lloyd said. UA didn’t have a defensive answer for the unexpected “pick-and-pop fives,� with little-used Oklahoma big man Luke Northweather hitting 2 of 4 3s – or, of course, the 8-for-12 3-point shooting of West Virginia forward Tucker DeVries, who often operated off screens near the top of the key.

“We weren’t maybe quite ready as a group for some of those situations,� Lloyd said.

“And it feels like sometimes you play bad defense and they miss the shot. Sometimes you play good defense and they make the shot. So we just need to focus on playing good defense and then living with the result.�

The good defense part has been a problem. Lloyd said he didn’t think UA’s defensive numbers were “crazy off,� but said defenders need more effort and attentiveness.

“We just need to harken back to what are the things that drive winning on the defensive end?� Lloyd said. “You’ve got to do a good job on the 3-point line. You got to protect the paint and hopefully keep the other team off the free-throw line.

“I think you can look back at all these games and find instances where one of those three things has been prevalent. We’ve just got to get back to maybe being a little bit more consistent.�

Rebound woes

They didn’t create an edge on the glass.

With two active 7-footers and an overall lineup that ranks 25th in average height, as adjusted for minutes played, the Wildcats were outrebounded in their two Atlantis losses.

One of the 7-footers, projected NBA pick Motiejus Krivas, averaged just 4.0 rebounds in the Bahamas, while the other, Henri Veesaar, averaged only 2.3. After starting Krivas at center against Duke on Nov. 22, Lloyd turned back to Tobe Awaka, who averaged 7.3 rebounds in the Battle 4 Atlantis, though he said Friday he’s noticed an “uptick� in Krivas’ practice efforts this week.

“As much as any (weakness) specific to last week was rebounding,� Lloyd said. “I just think there were a number of one-on-one rebounding battles that we could have been better on. We could have been tougher on.

“I went back and watched them on film. We were getting pushed around a little bit and that’s just not acceptable.�

Lloyd said rebounding lapses hurt, for example, when the Wildcats would start to make a run and then give up an offensive rebound that leads to an opponent put-back.

“We’ve just got to do a better job and sometimes, if you’re doing some switching on defense — which you have to do some in this day and age — your guards have got to be tough enough to block out their four man. They’ve got to be tough enough to give an effort to block out a five.

“That’s winning, that’s an ‘us’ play. We’ve got to get a little bit better at finding some more of those us moments and the individual needs to give a better effort.�

Ball movement

They didn’t move the ball enough.

Of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 96 made field goals over the three Atlantis games, only 42 came off assists. That’s a ratio of 43.7% that is down notably over the 59.2% the Wildcats put up last season and the mid-60s assist-to-field goal ratios they put up in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

“Overall ball movement is probably not where it needs to be,� Lloyd said. “That’s something we’ve been hoping to get back to. We have to figure out how it needs to feel and how it needs to look when we play in a game versus practice.

“In practices, you can say ‘Hey, we’re going to work on ball movement,’ and everybody locks into the process and pats each other on the back and is all happy and excited. Well, what are you practicing for? You’re practicing for the game. It’s got to show in the games.�

Rim shots

Lloyd said freshman center Emmanuel Stephen, who has been expected to redshirt this season, hasn’t practiced in recent weeks because of a “small knee issue.�

Although Southern Utah lost 88-43 at UCLA on Nov. 26, Thunderbirds coach Rob Jeter responded positively to the challenge of facing another high-level team.

“We didn’t play well at UCLA,â€� Jeter said after SUU beat NAIA Park University of Gilbert on Tuesday. “We have a chance again to continue to write a story about our team. This is an opportunity to go to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and face a team that is always in the hunt for a conference championship. It’s going to be exciting.â€�