If there was one thing you could count on at Arizona, below Tommy Lloydwas that a heavy defeat was always followed by a solid victory. But nothing lasts forever.

No. No. 17 Arizona fell 69-55 to No. 12 Duke on Friday night at McKale Center, its second straight loss and marking the first time it has lost back-to-back games under Lloyd. The Wildcats had not lost two in a row since the 2020-21 season Sean Miller was a coach.

Arizona (2-2) was never able to get its high-powered offense into any kind of flow, shooting 39.6 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from three-point range and going at least four more than two minutes without a field goal played. The Wildcats were outscored by 13 and also turned it over 15 times, leading to 19 points for Duke.

Jaden Bradley led the UA with 18 points, with KJ Lewis Add 12. Caleb Love had eight on 3-of-13 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3.

The Blue Devils (4-1) avenge last year’s home loss to Arizona thanks to 22 points from freshman phenom Cooper Flaggwith 14 in the second half. Duke shot 42.6 percent, made 9 of 25 3s, and limited Arizona to six offensive rebounds after having 65 in the first three games.

The Wildcats, who came in with a ridiculous 50 percent offensive rebound rate, went nearly 12 minutes into the game before getting an offensive board and finishing with eight second-chance points.

Duke led 34-27 at halftime and made its final four shots in the first half while holding Arizona scoreless for the final 2:55. The 27 points were Arizona’s fewest at halftime since he had 26 against UCLA in a 58-52 home win in January 2023.

The UA scored its first four after halftime and had a chance to get closer, but then went on another scoring drought, allowing Duke to go on an 8-0 run to lead 42-31 with 15:33 to go. It took another minute for the Wildcats to score, on a transition layup from Bradley, but he had to come out briefly after clutching the back of his right calf.

A driving dunk by Flagg put Duke up 46-33 with 12:27 remaining, forcing Lloyd to call a timeout. And whatever he said sparked something in Arizona’s offensive approach, as it scored on four of its next six possessions and pulled within 50-43 on a KJ Lewis driving at 8:48.

However, Lewis was called for a technical foul after the basket, while Tyrese Proctor missed both foul shots. Flagg hit a 3 on the ensuing possession to cut it to a 10-point Duke lead.

Bradley’s scoop brought the Wildcats within 54-48, but saw Duke’s Kon Knüppel drains a pair of 3s to cut the margin to 61-49 with 3:49 left.

Arizona would make just one field goal in the final 5:39.

The officials let them play early, with only one foul called before the under-16 media timeout… which came with 12:57 left in the first half and Duke up 13-12. The first free throw of the game didn’t come until 9:06 before halftime, while Arizona didn’t get to the line until 6:20 into the first half.

The physical play benefited Duke early as it led 24-18 by scoring inside and outside, while Arizona settled for too many threes, missing nine in a row after Bradley hit a pair in the opening three minutes. The Wildcats had a scoring drought of more than five minutes, but then hit six of nine shots to get within 28-27 with 2:55 to go in a Carter Bryant 3.

Arizona hits the road next week, playing three games in three days at the Battle4Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas. The Wildcats open against Davidson on Wednesday.