Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats picked up a hard-fought road win over the Auburn Tigers on Friday night, 80-69, to move to 3-1 on the year.

Arizona led for about 20 straight minutes between the first and second half, but Auburn never went away - and some hot shooting kept them within striking distance right up to the very end.

Caleb Holt led Arizona with 24 points, while the starting lineup - now including JJ Mandaquit over Bryce James - scored 76 of Arizona's 80 points.

Arizona now heads back to Tucson with a gritty road win, ahead of a major showdown against the UConn Huskies on Wednesday.

Below is a look at three key takeaways from Arizona's victory at Auburn:

Caleb Holt was red hot

Caleb Holt came into this game shooting a paltry 1-11 from beyond the arc, but all it took was a trip back home for the freshman to find his stroke.

Holt, a native of New Market, AL, was Arizona's best player on Friday night, dropping a team-high 24 points with nine rebounds and four steals. Highlight reel plays defensively and in transition were part of Holt's repertoire against the Tigers, but it was his outside shooting that shined brightest.

The 6'5 guard shot 4-6 from three, part of a 6-14 (43%) night for the Wildcats. It's clear the game is really slowing down for Holt, and his outside shooting coming along is great news for the Wildcats going forward.

Arizona kept driving into the trees

Often the strategy used to slow down Arizona offensively is packing the paint and forcing them to shoot from the outside.

But one lesser used strategy was in play by Auburn on Friday night: block every single shot in sight. Arizona kept getting downhill, kept putting up tough shots at the rim, and kept having them sent back by Auburn's big men.

Narcisse Ngoy, Auburn's 7'2, 280 pound center, blocked five shots in the first half alone, part of nine rejections in the first 20 minutes for the the Tigers. Auburn finished with 13 rejections on the night.

Arizona won't see many frontcourts as big and imposing as Auburn's, but these issues could arise against UConn and its new center Najai Hines next week if the Wildcats can't make an adjustment.

Problematic perimeter defense

By and large Arizona was excellent defensively on Friday night, holding Auburn to 69 points and an ugly 12-35 (34.2%) shooting inside the arc.

However, the Tigers kept themselves in this game thanks to the outside shot, drilling 11 of 31 attempts for a solid 35%. Thomas Dowd was electric, taking advantage of Arizona's power forward woes by hitting 4-5 from three and scoring 15 points with nine rebounds.

Adam Olsen went 3-8 off the bench, including a couple clutch ones down the stretch much to the joy of the crowd at the Jungle.

Arizona's gauntlet continues next week, with the Wildcats returning home to host Dan Hurley and the No. 4 UConn Huskies on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The game is set to tip at 7:00 PM MST, and will be broadcast on FS1.