Breaking down the numbers: How FAU handed UA a double-overtime loss in Las Vegas

Not only did Arizona risk tough losses by putting together one of the toughest nonconference schedules in school history, but the Wildcats also pushed fate by playing 14th-ranked Florida Atlantic in Las Vegas, where the Wildcats hadn’t lost in nine previous games under coach Tommy Lloyd.

Then FAU beat the No. 4 Wildcats 96-95 in double overtime on Saturday, handing UA (9-2) two losses in three games heading into Pac-12 play.

“We love playing here,” Lloyd said during the postgame press conference at T-Mobile Arena. “But about the undefeated thing, I mean, listen, when you get out there with other really good teams, you’re gonna win some, you’re gonna lose some.”

Yes, but not always like this.

Many unusual numbers told the story of Arizona’s loss Saturday. Some were slightly distorted by the 50-minute length of Saturday’s game, such as the loss being Arizona’s first when scoring 90 or more points under Lloyd (Arizona had 73 at the end of regulation), the fact that the Wildcats committed a season-high 20 fouls in each of their last two games (they committed 16 fouls in regulation Saturday) and the 35 points scored by FAU’s Johnell Davis (10 of which came in the overtime periods).

But there were plenty of other notable numbers out of what was Arizona’s first multiple-overtime game since the Wildcats lost a quadruple-overtime game at USC in 2015-16.

Among them:

1 — Arizona losses in three overtime games under Lloyd. The Wildcats beat Wichita State in overtime at the 2021-22 Main Event MTE in Las Vegas and beat TCU in overtime in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

4 — Made 3-pointers out of 12 attempts by guard Caleb Love, who performed several clutch plays and hit all six free throws he took but missed a potential game-winning 3 just before the final buzzer in double overtime.

Love wound up shooting 30.7% from 3-point range in the nonconference season but leads the Wildcats in scoring at 16.5 points a game and has consistently earned praise from Lloyd.

“He shot some big-time ones, but he also had one that was like a layup on the left side that he shot and it came out of his hand,” Lloyd said of Saturday’s game. “I thought it had no chance and somehow it hit below the rim and crawled over the rim. He’s a really, really good player. He’s got a poise about him and and he knows where you can pick and choose his spots and he’s got tremendous confidence

5 — Fouls by KJ Lewis, his first foul-out of the season and only Arizona’s second (Pelle Larsson fouled out against Michigan State on Nov. 23). Lewis played 27 minutes before fouling out with two minutes left in the second overtime period, appearing not to hold back — and also wound up drawing four fouls.

“Coach Lloyd and my teammates were just telling me to be myself,” Lewis said. “I think I played really aggressive. It was just situational basketball … and it just happened to go my way.”

5 — Steals from Kylan Boswell against both FAU (all in regulation) and Alabama, making him the first Wildcat to record at least five steals in back-to-back games since Jason Terry had six at Cal and six at Stanford late in the 1989-99 season. Boswell struggled offensively Saturday, hitting just 4 of 16 shots and 2 of 8 from 3-point range, but he helped Arizona score 18 points off 16 FAU turnovers.

One example: In the first half, Boswell stole the ball from FAU’s Davis, leading to a fast-break dunk from Love.

7 — Keshad Johnson’s season-low scoring total. He also had a season low in rebounds with three.

8 — Players used by Arizona despite it being a 50-minute game and Lewis fouling out. Love, Boswell and Pelle Larsson all played about 40 minutes, while Lewis and guard Jaden Bradley played 27 off the bench.

Lloyd played backup center Motiejus Krivas for only six of the 50 minutes, meaning they actually rode a seven-man rotation for most of the game.

8 — Years since Arizona played a game decided in multiple overtime periods, dating back to a Jan. 9, 2016 game at USC that the Wildcats lost 103-101 in quadruple overtime.

9 — Offensive rebounds by Oumar Ballo, who had a career-high 21 rebounds overall (19 at the end of regulation). The offensive rebounds were the most by an Arizona player since Derrick Williams had nine in 2010-11 against Washington State.

However, Ballo shot 4 of 11 from the field, getting one of those offensive rebounds off his own miss.

“O really impacted the game and we want to continue to build with him,” Lloyd said. “He’s obviously a force and I’m sure his finishing is going to continue to pick up a little bit.”

12 — Missed layups by Arizona (15 for 27, according to StatBroadcast). FAU missed 10 (making 12 of 22).

38.8 — Arizona’s field goal shooting, its worst of the season (UA’s previous low was 43.1% on Wednesday against Alabama, giving the Wildcats a percentage of 40.6 over its last two games).

50.0 — Florida Atlantic’s shooting percentage, only the second time this season that an Arizona opponent has hit at least half of its shots (Purdue shot 53.8% during its 92-84 win over Arizona in Indianapolis on Dec. 16). The Owls shot 58.3% from 2-point range and 33.3% (8 of 24) from 3.