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One: That five-star freshman Brayden Burries averaged just 4.0 points while shooting 21.1% from the field in the Wildcats’ three wins over ranked teams: Florida, UCLA and UConn.

Also, that the Wildcats have only played six total games.

There’s still plenty of time, the way UA coach Tommy Lloyd explained it, after Burries had 20 points to help lead Arizona to a 103-73 drubbing of Denver at McKale Center on Monday.

“Brayden just needs at-bats,� Lloyd said. “He just needs to continue to get take at-bats, take swings and he'll figure it out. He had a lot of really good parts of the game today. The cool thing is there's so many things you can continue to get better at, but I was really happy with how he went about it.�

Even though Burries is already 20, his age actually worked against him in getting some high-level experience freshman forward Koa Peat already had: Burries wasn’t eligible to try out for the Lloyd-coached USA Basketball team that won the U19 World Cup last summer in Switzerland.

Of UA’s other freshmen, Peat actually entered UA with four total gold medals from FIBA events he's played in around the world, while wing Ivan Kharchenkov was a key reserve player in Germany’s top pro league last season. Then there’s forward Dwayne Aristode, who has experience with the Netherlands senior national team.

Those three guys added to Burries' 20 points and three from deep reserve Sidi Gueye to give UA a total of 72 freshman points Monday: Kharchenkov had another 20, while Aristode had 17 and hit 4 of 8 3-pointers, and Peat added 12 points.

Burries attended USA Basketball camps in 2023 and 2024, but this year he went pretty much straight from the California high school Open Division championship, with an offseason of UA workouts, into the Wildcats’ season-opener against defending national champion Florida on Nov. 3.

He had three points and made only one of his six shots in that game. Burries then went 1 for 9 against UCLA and, on Nov. 19 at UConn, had just four points along with two turnovers and three fouls in 19 minutes.

Burries said he felt those three teams were particularly aggressive with him, but also suggested he had more to do with it.

“I'm starting to get more comfortable,� he said. “The most important thing, I think, is just experience, going through three games. It’s just getting the experience of it early on so as the season goes on, by the time we hit conference and in March, (you can) be ready.�

As did virtually all of the Wildcats on Monday, when Arizona kept Denver scoreless for over five minutes to start the game and led by up to 35 points, Burries appeared plenty comfortable.

While he turned the ball over on UA’s first possession against the Pioneers, Burries wound up with 13 points at halftime and 20 for the game on 7-for-13 shooting.

“I'm sure there's adjustments� Lloyd said of Burries' approach after UA’s big three early games. “But the one thing we’ve got to understand is he's a freshman, and experience is a great teacher.

“We always talk about …. trying to build over the course of the season. Guys get better. Sometimes you can point to a single thing, and sometimes you can just say it's an accumulation of experience. Brayden works really hard, and I'm happy he got some results.�

Wildcats move to No. 2

Because they never allowed Denver to become a serious threat Monday, the Wildcats showed no sign of a letdown after beating UConn last week and moving up to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

It's "business as usual," Lloyd said. "I don't care if people are talking about us or not. It's business as usual. We didn't do one thing different. Steady the ship, help guys get better. That's our mindset."

With three wins over ranked teams so far this season, Arizona had an argument for the No. 1 ranking, but Purdue (6-0) held on to the top-ranked spot after drilling Texas Tech by 30 points in the Bahamas.

“Doesn't matter to me,� Lloyd said. “I mean, that team that’s No. 1 looks pretty good to me, too.

“Here's what I tell our guys, the rankings are a vote. They're voted on by people. It's not a result, it's a vote. I'm not calling into question the votes because I really spend no energy even thinking about it. ... We're into actually what we're doing on the court and where we're going. That's where I keep my focus.�

The Wildcats were last ranked No. 1 on Dec. 11, 2023, coincidentally just five days before they lost to Purdue in Indianapolis. UA had held the top spot for two weeks, after beating Duke, Michigan State and Wisconsin earlier during the 2023-24 season.

Peat, Bradley honored

Earlier Monday, Peat was named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week and joined guard Jaden Bradley on the conference's "Starting Five" honor roll.

Peat scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting while collecting 12 rebounds at UConn on Nov. 19, while Bradley had 21 points, including a go-ahead layup, while making 6 of 13 field goals and hitting 8 of 9 free throws.

Kansas State's PJ Haggerty beat out Bradley for the Big 12 Player of the Week, after Haggerty averaged 31.7 points on 57.6% shooting during games against Tulsa, Mississippi State and Nebraska. Haggerty also averaged 7.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals while K-State beat Tulsa and Mississippi State but lost 86-85 to Nebraska.

Adding a "Starting Five" this year to honor more standouts, the Big 12 this week chose Haggerty, Bradley, Peat, UCF's Jamichael Stillwell and Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey. Stillwell had double-doubles in the Knights' wins over Pittsburgh and Oakland, while Lipsey had 22 points and four assists in the Cyclones' 39-point win over Stonehill.

Rim shots

– Lloyd said Arizona would play in the Maui Invitational next season, as it is contracted to, even though the Big 12 announced that its top eight teams would receive automatic bids into the competing Players Era Festival over Thanksgiving week starting next season.

– Former UA forward Carter Bryant and San Antonio Spurs teammate Dylan Harper took in Monday’s game from courtside seats after the Spurs faced the Suns on Sunday in Phoenix.

– Goodyear Millennium High School senior forward Cam Holmes, who signed with Arizona last week, will bring “electric athleticism� and a high-character, high-energy personality to the Wildcats, Lloyd said.