No one said it would be easy.
It may have looked like that in the first 20 minutes as Arizona got out and appeared like it would breeze through Cincinnati … then the second half came.
But Arizona was just good enough for a 72-67 win over the No. 16 Bearcats on the road in what head coach Tommy Lloyd said was “a huge” win. It’s his 16th win over a top 25 team in his career.
Arizona moved to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in the all-important Big 12 Conference where every game matters for NCAA tournament concerns. Oh, by the way, it was UA’s first big win – Quad 1 win – this season after going 0 for 5.
“We know how this year has gone (but) we have a good team,” Lloyd said. “To come in here and win and build a 19-point lead says something, But, hey, we have to refine some things. But these guys have made huge progress in the last month.”
Saturday afternoon’s no-walk-in-the-park victory helped with the theory that at the very least teams must split on the road to succeed in the conference. Arizona has at least done that with West Virginia looming on Tuesday.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Lloyd said on his postgame radio show. “It’s a huge program win.”
Yes, the head coach of the University of Arizona said that. That’s the magnitude of the win given what had happened in the preconference, making for every victory in the Big 12 paramount.
Still, temper that enthusiasm with the reality that it’s going to be a crazy conference season the rest of the way.
But, again – Arizona survived, after gaining – earning – a 13-point halftime lead before stretching it to 19 points (52-33) midway through the second half.
Until shades of the UCLA game showed up – giving up a double-digit lead in the final minutes — although this time they found a way.
It got aggressive – more later – in the final minute behind Jaden Bradley, who drove to the basket seemingly unguarded to give UA the lead with 43 seconds left. And UA held on.
The victory came with a dose of this and that throughout the game, led by Bradley’s 15 points as he returned to his get-to-the-basket ways.
Then there was the dose of Carter Bryant, who went 5 for 5 from the floor, including 3 for 3 from beyond the 3-point line. He had a career-high 14 points. Henri Veesaar was aggressive – too – with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Caleb Love added 12 points, five fewer than his average, but every point mattered.
More doses? The bench of Veesaar, Bryant and KJ Lewis – combined for 31 points.
Lloyd and Arizona will take that every day, all day.
“They are starting-level players,” Lloyd said. “We’ve always said that when we have seven, eight starters, we feel good about our chances. That’s our standard and the guys did a good job.”
It was another thing that helped UA win. It went in as a 2.5-point underdog but now moves its win streak to four.
Cincinnati, despite being at home, didn’t do itself any favors, hitting just 39 percent of its shots, including just 5 of 25 from beyond the 3-point line. It also missed 12 free throws in 23 attempts. Some in crucial late-game moments.
“Our defense in the halfcourt was really good,” Lloyd said.
The game, however, didn’t come without problems, all in the second half. First the numbers: Arizona didn’t shoot well, hitting just 43 percent of its shots; it was outrebounded 39-34.
The dark side is what gives me cause for a pause.
Once again, it played fast and loose with the ball allowing for easy baskets late, which helped Cincinnati stay close.
“We’ve gotta stop throwing pick-sixes (bad passes that turn into easy baskets) because it’s hard to defend those,” Lloyd said. “And then we need to do a little bit better job on the glass when teams are down. Those are things we need to address.
“You build a big lead on the road that’s how you weather the storm. You take care of the ball and rebound the ball on the other end.”
Arizona stumbled in the end, but not all the way – now on to West Virginia.
