The steps Wildcats guard Kylan Boswell took to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week

First, he had to get used to playing college basketball after reclassifying to skip his senior season of high school and overcoming a broken foot. Then, after missing the offseason and most of preseason practices because of the injury, Boswell had to gradually work his way into Arizona’s playing rotation.

Finally, last weekend, Boswell went through about a difficult a weekend as the Arizona Wildcats have during the regular season, playing at USC and UCLA.

Boswell responded by collecting 14 points, two rebounds and two assists against both teams while making 9 of 12 field goals over the two games, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

Against UCLA, Boswell also helped give the Wildcats a shot at the end. UCLA led by up to 14 points, but Boswell twice hit 3-pointers to cut the Bruins’ lead to seven points in the final four minutes. Additionally, he he hit a 2-point jumper with 24 seconds left for the final score of the game.

All that came in the home finale of a team that won the Pac-12 title by four games.

“He’s getting better,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Boswell after Saturday’s game. “He’s getting in battles, and he’s getting some battle scars. That’s a huge part of development.”

Other development came behind the scenes.

“I’ve put the work in for myself, so I’ve always felt like I’ve had confidence,” Boswell said Saturday. “I’m just getting more and more comfortable. Even though I’ve been feeling fine, I’m just getting more comfortable.”

While Boswell said he was disappointed the Wildcats couldn’t leave with a win at UCLA, things worked out pretty well in a personal sense: He had his most impactful weekend of the season in Southern California, where he played his high school freshman and sophomore seasons after moving from Champaign, Illinois. He still has family roots in the area too.

“For these two games, a lot of my family came,” Boswell said. “I’m proud of myself for performing semi-well for them.”

UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Week after averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Bruins’ sweep of ASU and UA. Arizona nominated Azuolas Tubelis, who averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the Wildcats’ win at USC and loss at UCLA.

The Pac-12’s annual postseason awards are expected to be announced Tuesday morning.

Still No. 8

Arizona remained at No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, while the Wildcats appear to be hovering between a No. 2 and No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed heading into the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Wildcats, who will open Pac-12 Tournament play on Thursday against either Stanford or Utah, are projected as a No. 2 seed by ESPN and a No. 3 by CBS.

The Bracket Matrix, a compilation of bracket projections, has the Wildcats as the eighth team on the overall seed line to indicate they are just barely in the No. 2 seed range.

Lumberjack karma

While ESPN projected Eastern Washington as UA’s first-round opponent over the weekend, that is no longer possible since Lloyd’s son, Liam, and NAU shocked the top-seeded Eagles 81-80 in a Big Sky Tournament game Sunday.

The Lumberjacks were seeded ninth after going just 5-13 in Big Sky play but beat 10th-seeded Idaho in the first round Saturday and then edged Eastern Washington when freshman guard Oakland Fort hit a 35-foot buzzer-beater.

NAU (11-22) has lost more than its share of close games, including one on an improbable buzzer-beater after Lloyd hit what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer. But Coach Shane Burcar found some redemption on Sunday.

“We talked before the game,” Burcar said, according to the Arizona Daily Sun. “If you had a choice to win in January, February or March, what game would you pick? We obviously would pick March.”

Eastern Washington has a NET of 130, well outside the typical range for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but the Eagles will receive an automatic bid to the NIT as the Big Sky’s regular-season champ.