And so it begins.

More than nine months after ending its wildly successful run in the Pac-12 Conference with another title, Arizona is on the cusp of officially beginning its journey through the Big 12. The anticipation around Wildcat Nation rivals that of another recent date on the calendar.

“It’s a little bit like Christmas Eve when you’re a little kid growing up,” coach Tommy Lloyd said Sunday, the day before the UA hosts TCU. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time, and it’s here. It’s Big 12 Eve for us, and we’re fired up.”

Added junior guard Jaden Bradley: “We’re excited. Going into probably one of the best conferences known for basketball, so we’re excited going into this. As a basketball player, that’s one of the things that you want to play best of the best, and going into the Big 12 we’re definitely getting that for 20-plus games.”

Arizona (6-5) was picked to finish 5^th in the league back in October but struggled going through its nonconference slate. The five losses are its most before Jan. 1 since the 2010-11 season, and as it stands right now the Wildcats probably wouldn’t make the NCAA Tournament after being a No. 1 or No. 2 seed the previous three years under Lloyd.

But Lloyd doesn’t see any difference in his team’s “vibe” since returning from a short holiday break, one that allowed he, his staff and the players to all reset.

“I think you always look at it as like, hey, it’s a fresh start,” Lloyd said. “You break your season up into little segments, and the Christmas break is a natural pause. So now let’s get back to it. I think the team has a good vibe around it right now, but now you got to go out on game day. You got to build some game confidence. And that’s what I’m hoping our next step is.”

Here’s what to look for when the Wildcats host the Horned Frogs (7-4) at McKale Center:

A stern defensive test right out the gate

TCU ranks 17^th in the country in adjust defensive efficiency, a few spots ahead of Arizona (20^th). The Horned Frogs allow 63.8 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting, with opponents making only 28 percent of their 3-point attempts.

“They’re a great defensive team,” Lloyd said. “They got this big guy, (Ernest Udeh), and his ball screen defense is about as good as you’re going to see. His ability to get his hands on balls from the way he guards ball screens and the deflections he gets from the 5 position, it’s really impressive, and it really caught my attention. They do a great job protecting the paint. You beat somebody, there’s another defender waiting for you.”

Arizona has faced five top-100 defenses this season and lost each of those games, and against teams ranked higher than TCU the Wildcats have scored 55 (Duke) and 54 (UCLA) points, respectively.

“It’s not going to be easy for us,” Bradley said. “We gotta adjust and find ways to win games. We’re going to have to work for a full 40 minutes to get wins.”

The Frogs have had to lean on defense because their offense has struggled for the most part. They’re shooting 43.3 percent, worst in the Big 12, are second-to-last from 3 (32.9) and rank 343^rd out of 363 Division I schools in free throw shooting (64.0).

They also are missing one of their leaders, senior Frankie Collins, who broke his foot three games ago and is out for the season. The former Michigan and ASU guard leads TCU in scoring (11.2 points per game), assists (4.4) and steals (1.9).

“TCU and Jamie Dixon is a program, it’s not about a player,” Lloyd said. “He’s had so much success over a long career, and Jamie’s one of the class acts in our business. Missing one player, I’m sure it sets it back. And obviously we know Frankie Collins is a good player. We played against him every year I’ve been here.”

Leaders wanted

A year ago Arizona had several players that you could consider the team’s leader, two of which are in the NBA and the other is at Indiana. This season? Not so much, despite having the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year in Caleb Love and a pair of returning guards in Bradley and KJ Lewis. None of them have stepped up to be the guy in that respect, but there’s still time.

“We’re still working on that,” Lloyd said. “I think we have guys stepping up in that position. I think Caleb’s certainly trying to grow. I think JB, in his own way, he’s a little bit more quiet, but I think he definitely has a voice with the guys. And then now I’m hopeful, as we get into conference play, some of our veteran transfers can kind of step up in that role. Saying we have a definitive leader, we’re probably not there yet. Last year we had some guys that at this time, or on day one, I can say, yeah. Pelle (Larsson), Keshad (Johnson), Oumar (Ballo) in his own way.

“Leadership’s huge, but leadership can come in a variety of ways. What leaders do is they can pull people together in tough times. They can help hold people accountable to a standard. Whether that’s effort or execution, and it’s great when it can come from a voice within the team, as opposed to just coming from the coaches. When you can have your coaching and your coaching staff aligned with the leadership of your team, I think you’re gonna find a group that’s really in sync. We’re fighting for that. I don’t think there’s any anybody on either side working against each other.”

A very different matchup from the previous meeting

Arizona and TCU last faced off in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, a second-round 1/8 game in San Diego that saw the Wildcats escape with an 85-80 victory in overtime. The Wildcats had three future NBA draft picks on the court, with Bennedict Mathurin going for 30 and Christian Koloko 28 while Dalen Terry nearly won it in regulation after getting a steal at halfcourt but his layup was just after the buzzer.

“I remember that the game came down to a few offensive rebounds, I think kind of on free throws,” Lloyd said. “I remember Ben Mathurin was awesome. I remember Dalen Terry hit a huge three in the corner. I remember Kerr (Kriisa) gave a great effort trying to come back and play when I don’t think people realize he probably had no business trying to play with that sprained ankle that he sprained in the Pac-12 Tournament. It was an awesome game.”

That TCU team was just as good defensively but far more methodical on offense, ranking 246^th in adjusted tempo. The 2024-25 Frogs are averaging nearly three more possessions per game and take more than 35 percent of their shots in transition, compared to 25.1 percent in 2022.

TCU still makes teams work on defense, the average length of possession (18.5 seconds) one of the longest in the country. Arizona has the 20th-shortest average possession length (15.4).