Tommy Lloyd has long said his team is “built for it”. And that his team is “ready for it.”
Well, ready or not here comes the Big 12 Conference regular season, a seemingly historic one for the Wildcats on at least two levels. It’s Arizona’s first season in the basketball-heavy (in a good way) conference and UA is desperately in need of giving a good showing, given the preconference schedule didn’t go quite as planned. It’s paramount for Arizona to do well so it can make it into the NCAA tournament come March
Everything starts Monday in UA’s Big 12 home opener against Texas Christian. The game is at 6 p.m.
“All the prognosticating (is) done, it’s time; let’s do this – we’re excited,” Lloyd said on the eve of the big season ahead. “We’re not going into this thing covering up, or half-hearted. We’re all in. We’re fired up to be in the Big 12 (and) it’s here. We’ve been talking about this conference stuff for way too long. Let’s play the games.”
To borrow a boxing term – let’s get it on!
Some games may have the feel of a heavyweight prize fight – not sure if Monday’s will, but – given there are five teams from the Big 12 in the top 25. Arizona used to be in the polls, but a mediocre – if not disappointing 6-5 run to this point – has put the Wildcats in a win-as-many-games-as-possible scenario to get into the NCAA tournament. Arizona has no Quad-1 wins.
“We know what we are stepping into,” Lloyd said. “There is no hesitation.”
Jaden Bradley, Arizona’s starting point guard, said he’s looking forward to playing “in one of the best conferences for basketball” because you “want to play the best of the best and we’re definitely getting that for 20 games.”
What he’s learned so far is the next two-plus months “(aren’t) going to be easy for us (given they’ve gone through) injuries and different lineups. So, we gotta adjust and find ways to win games, whether that’s on the defense and getting stops shots not when the shot isn’t falling. We gotta really work for 40 minutes to get wins.”
Lloyd said on Sunday afternoon his team is “ready to have a fresh start.” It’s one where Arizona will continue one without center Mo Krivas, who has been out with a foot injury. Lloyd said it’s unclear if – or when – Krivas will return.
What’s clear is when Lloyd put the roster together he had the Big 12 and UA basketball in mind.
“Like the last two teams we were built for any conference,” he said. “Creating (a roster) and roster management is never easy. … I feel good … you always want a roster that is physically able to compete with anybody and hopefully you have a team that can absorb an injury.
“We know you’ll have to great defensively and you are going to have to compete physically.”
And it will have to be better at creating some offensive flow, particularly when it comes to transition baskets. Arizona teams – save for a few Sean Miller teams – have long been known to go on major runs that eventually do in opponents. Those, however, have been few and far between – this season and clearly not against the tougher opponents Arizona has struggled against. Is it more Arizona failing to do so or opponents making that an issue?
Could be both – but it’s up to Arizona to make it work.
“I think asserting your will is the most important thing, and testing their transition defense consistently over 40 minutes, like over and over and over again,” Lloyd said, in trying to make it happen. “Then, choosing your advantages and your opportunities is the most important thing. I think our running game can continue to get better. I’m hopeful … we’re definitely not going to try to pull it back. What we have to do is have more consistent effort.”
After all, Monday begins the Big 12 – ready or not.
