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kyle bonagura
multiple authors
SAN JOSE, Calif. – On the morning of the biggest game of his head coaching career, Tommy Lloyd woke up confused. it’s been two days since Arizona Wildcats John Calipari dominates Arkansas Razorbacks In the Sweet 16. Now just one win away from the program’s first Final Four appearance in 25 years, he forgot for a moment that the game even happened.
Perhaps strained by the difficulties of a postseason trip – Arizona has played seven games since its last home game on March 2 – Lloyd needed to recalibrate.
“I thought: Are we in the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight?” Lloyd said after defeating the Wildcats Purdue Boilermakers To advance to the final four.
Confidence can come from many places, and for Lloyd, this momentary lapse in awareness became an unexpected source. Here he was, on the doorstep of college basketball history, completely unphased.
“I knew we were OK, because I knew we weren’t making a big deal out of it,” Lloyd said.
It’s a safe bet that the University of Arizona and much of the Tucson community did not wake up Saturday morning similarly unaware of what was at stake later that day. The Wildcats last reached the Final Four in 2001 – an eternity to the basketball-mad fan base – and it was a moment many had imagined for years. They had reached the Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons under Lloyd, but had not reached the Elite Eight since 2015. After the best start in program history (23–0), being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for nine consecutive weeks and winning the Big 12 regular season and conference titles, it seemed like everything was lining up for a trip to Indianapolis.
After a 20-season run as an assistant, Lloyd arrived in 2021 gonzagaHe is filled with stories of the past. The four Final Four appearances the Wildcats reached under Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson may now be vivid experiences for Lloyd, who reached the national championship game twice as Mark Few’s top assistant.
“The people of Tucson are basketball historians,” Lloyd said. “The number of stories I’ve consistently heard about events that happened 10, 20, 30 years ago is impressive. I mean, they’re really true to the things that this program accomplishes, and they’re true to our struggles, too.”
It’s not like Arizona has struggled since Gilbert Arenas led the Wildcats to the national semifinals in 2001, at least not in the traditional sense. They have missed the NCAA Tournament only four times in that span, they have regularly competed for – and won – conference titles in the Pac-12 and Big 12, but their performances in March have always ended the same way. And the more time passed since they reached the final stage, the more the external pressure increased. Regular season success matters only so much in a sport where tournament performances are what the average fan remembers.
Associate head coach Jack Murphy is a link to this team’s past. He first arrived in Tucson as a student manager under Olson before returning as an assistant under Sean Miller in 2019, giving Murphy a perspective that spans generations of Arizona basketball.
“I feel like every year I come here he’s just telling us history,” the senior guard said. jaden bradleywho moved from arizona alabama In 2023. “Knowing the players who came before us, even the managers and everybody who came before us, the coaches. … I feel like they’re going to tell us, even if you don’t want to hear it.”
Now, no matter what happens against a fellow No. 1 seed michiganThis Arizona team will be remembered among the best in school history. Its Elite Eight win against Purdue broke the single-season record for wins (36) and ensured that Arizona would not finish with more than three losses for the first time since 1988, when it reached the Final Four for the first time.
Before the Sweet 16 began, former Arizona coach Miller – who was also in the West Region with Texas – praised Lloyd.
“My perspective of looking at Arizona, they couldn’t have hired a better coach,” said Miller, who has made three trips to the Elite Eight in 12 years in Tucson. “I mean, what he’s done is just — it’s like legendary. I know the team he has this year might be the best team in Arizona, one of the best ever.”
Throughout the history of the program, one of the defining characteristics of this team has been its ability to stay current. This was seen again on Saturday.
There was no panic when they trailed Purdue by seven points at halftime. Lloyd simply delivered his message and moved out of the way.
“This is when we perform at our best,” Lloyd said. “I said, ‘Guys, the coaching staff and I are leaving right now. You guys have got a few minutes to talk amongst yourselves and work this deal out, and let’s kick their ass in the second half.’
And the same thing happened. Even a veteran-led team like Purdue had no way of slowing down Arizona after the break, as the Wildcats ran away with a 79–64 victory that punched their ticket and solidified the idea that they were capable of winning it all.
Lloyd’s incredible track record of recruiting and developing international players is well documented. It’s part of what turned little Gonzaga into a national power and part of what has helped Arizona become the winningest program in college basketball over the past five years. Half of this season’s 16-player list is from abroad.
But as mundane as this program has become, the regional’s standout performer was an Arizona native: the freshman forward. koa peat. He was named the West Regional’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 17.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and two assists.
Pete is somewhat of an Arizona high school legend. At Perry High in Gilbert, he won four consecutive state titles and was state player of the year three times.
“They call him Mister Arizona,” Lloyd said. “Koa is special.”
When recruiting Pete, Lloyd was attracted to the obvious physical gifts that made him one of the most sought-after players in the 2025 class, but all the wins he achieved in high school – as well as the four gold medals he won in FIBA international competitions with USA Basketball – made him an even more top priority.
However, despite growing up 100 miles outside of Tucson, Pete said he was never really a big fan of college basketball. Of course, he was generally aware of the Wildcats’ status, but he didn’t really enter history until they began recruiting him.
“When you wear an Arizona jersey, you know you’re playing for the guys who played before you,” Pete said. “So it’s bigger than you; it’s the program.”
Lloyd expressed a similar sentiment in a way that might make Wildcats fans a little concerned about the rampant speculation about his potential candidacy for the inaugural run. North Carolina.
Lloyd said, “The sun may be shining on this team and I’m coaching it right now, but when it’s shining on you, you’ve got to fight like hell to save it and make it.” “So I feel like my No. 1 responsibility is to fight to protect the program and fight to build it up for the guys who came before me and for the guys who are going to come after me, because you know what, Arizona is going to have another good coach after me. I promise you. That place is special.”
