NCAA Tournament: Motiejus Krivas’ improvement on defense evident for Arizona Wildcats during opening weekend
At 7-foot-2 and 260 kilos, Motiejus Krivas strikes an imposing determine within the paint. But there is a large distinction between simply being an enormous physique and making full use of it.
In his first two seasons—or, relatively, one and eight video games—Krivas made an impression on defense however not in a manner that stood out. But in his junior yr the Lithuanian native has come into his personal as a defensive presence, and nowhere has that been extra noticeable than within the NCAA Tournament.
Through two tourney video games Krivas has blocked seven pictures, tied with 7-foot-3 Michigan middle Aday Mara for most within the occasion. For the season he has 69 blocks, tied for Seventh-most at school historical past.
There have been numerous extra pictures Krivas has affected, although. Long Island and Utah State missed half their layup makes an attempt in San Diego, and lots of of these had been the results of altering their shot when Krivas was within the sport.
“He affects all of it,” Utah State middle Zach Keller he stated.
For the season, Krivas is averaging 3.1 blocks per 40 minutes. He additionally grabs 8.1 defensive rebounds per 40, rivaling teammate Tobe Awaka (9.3), and his defensive ranking of 92.8 is 15th in Division I, significantly better than Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Flory Bidunga of Kansas (96.9).
“He’s been a game changer for us defensively,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd he stated. “I know a lot of the analytic gurus out there have studied it probably more than I have, I just know I feel good when he’s on the court. He’s got great instincts. Mo stands for mobility at 7-2. And he does a great job answering shots up high.”
To assist Krivas grow to be greater than only a large physique on defense Lloyd, a self-proclaimed lover of bigs, introduced in certainly one of his greatest from his Gonzaga days to assist. Przemek Karnowskiwho performed at Gonzaga from 2012-17 and was 5th nationally in defensive ranking as a senior on the Bulldogs group that reached the 2017 NCAA title sport, spent the earlier two seasons on the UA employees as a graduate assistant.
“He’s such a great player, such a great mentor,” Krivas stated. “He was probably one of the most unstoppable players in college basketball. And on defense, like he wasn’t the fastest guy, he couldn’t jump the most, but he knew how things worked. He shared those secrets.”
A giant a part of what made Karnowski so efficient on defense was his skill to keep away from foul bother. He averaged 3.9 fouls per 40 minutes over his profession, fouling out simply six instances in 118 video games with solely two of these taking place his senior season.
Krivas’ fouls per 40 fee is 4.8, however annually it is gone down—4.2 in 2025-26—and he is solely fouled out as soon as in a detailed sport (Feb. 21 at Houston). He had one foul in 32 minutes in opposition to Utah State.
“It just comes with practice,” he stated. “You keep doing it. You fail, you succeed.”
Krivas had 11 factors, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two assists within the second spherical, solely the second UA participant to have that type of line in an NCAA Tournament sport. The different was AJ Bramlett within the first spherical in 1997.
