Following Arizona’s victory over Michigan State, Tommy Lloyd, Keshad Johnson, while Caleb Love said the following

Following Arizona’s victory over Michigan State, Tommy Lloyd, Keshad Johnson, while Caleb Love said the following

It’s not uncommon for squads to struggle at the start of the season while they work out their weaknesses and constraints in the era of yearly roster overhauls of college basketball.

And then there’s Arizona, who has won two significant nonconference games already this season and is 27-1 overall under Tommy Lloyd.

Don’t expect Lloyd to clarify why the UA performs so well in such crucial early games, though.

The most recent being the Wildcats’ 74-68 victory over No. 21 Michigan State on Saturday in the Acrisure Invitational.

In Lloyd’s two plus seasons, the Wildcats have won 12 of their 16 games against ranked opponents.

He remarked, “These guys love to play in big games.” Since we’re a major program, we won’t back down from any of those occasions.

It’s been fantastic. Perhaps on the way back, when I have the quartzsite, I’ll have a better response for you.

Such a game teaches you a great deal. We emerged; we had a good start; we were the ones who attacked.

Although things kind of turned against us in the end, we persevered and managed to make clutch plays.

It’s not coaching, really—these two individuals right here right next to me did it. In the end, they accomplished an amazing job. I almost ran out of things to run as plays.

However, offensive rebounding is often the cause of it. And today, I believe that was made clear.

At the conclusion of these games, I usually tell the guys that it’s incredible how frequently it comes down to basic principles, like a jump stop that sets up a back cut, an attempted fake that gets you fouled, or simply stepping out and hitting a shot which the opposition misses.

The No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats were the NCAA tournament favorites going into last spring’s March Madness, but they were destroyed in the first round by No. 15 seed Princeton in an unexpected upset that sent shockwaves across college basketball before the first full weekend of the tournament had even ended.

As he began his third season as head coach, Tommy Lloyd saw he needed to make significant progress.

Using the transfer site, he welcomed three players with a shared quality that should benefit the 2023–24 Wildcats: It has been a long run for all three players in March.

With senior guard Caleb Love, senior center Keshad Johnson, as well as sophomore guard Jaden Bradley adding postseason experience, the Wildcats, who are ranked 12th and favorite to win the Pac-12, will be hoping to erase the bitter taste of their early season exit against Morgan State on Monday.

At the media day for Arizona’s men’s basketball team, Lloyd remarked, “They’re great players.”

They both appear to be quite at ease in this environment and have somewhat adapted to leadership roles.

Love was a major factor in UNC’s wins over UCLA and Duke on their drive to the 2022 NCAA Tourney title, which was perhaps the most significant for the Wildcats.

Love scored 28 points versus Duke and 30 points versus UCLA. During his freshman year, he made 40 consecutive free throws, and he finished his career with 200 3-pointers. These are some of his other highlights.

Love claimed he’s settled in nicely in Tucson, feeling that the city’s serenity fits his disposition. “I’ve adjusted quite well,” Love remarked. “I was welcomed by the men as soon as I arrived. And the adjustment has been simple.

He has, in my opinion, practiced correctly. He’s appropriately prepped,” Lloyd remarked. We’ve had some wonderful talks, although it is a little difficult when the lights are out.

I can tell from what I’ve seen and learned about him that he will stick to our current course. He should be a tremendous shooter for our offense, in my opinion.