Arizona got the response it needed in Tucson. After opening the season with a loss to UCLA, the Wildcats beat Cal Poly 104-84 for their first win of the 2026-27 season, with Motiejus Krivas scoring a career-high 30 points and Caleb Holt and Cameron Holmes combining for 34.
The result mattered because it finally put Arizona back in the win column after the season-opening trip to Vegas and gave the team something tangible to build on. Tommy Lloyd said the game came after a stretch that felt similar to the first two games from the Lithuania trip, and he said he had not slept well after losses there or after the return from Vegas.
Krivas was the center of the night’s work. His 30 points gave Arizona a needed inside anchor, while Holt and Holmes supplied enough scoring to keep the margin moving and prevent Cal Poly from turning the game into a grind. Lloyd said Cal Poly brought real challenges with its relentlessness and its willingness to shoot from a wide range of spots, and he said he was impressed with how the visitors played.
That praise came with a warning. Even with a 20-point win, Lloyd said Arizona is still trying to figure it out. He pointed to rebounding and loose balls as the part of the game he has been stressing most, saying those plays help create stops, extra possessions and a better chance to control the game. For him, that was the point of the night as much as the score.
He said the performance should serve as a foundation of learning, not a finish line. Arizona’s first win since beating Purdue in an Elite Eight game in March gives the season an early lift, but Lloyd made clear the next step is not about the scoreboard alone. It is about whether the Wildcats can turn this into the kind of hustle and consistency that shows up before the margin does.
