When it was announced months ago that Arizona would be headed to the Big 12 Conference, those who follow college basketball and Arizona had one specific thought: the Wildcats will benefit from the rough-and-tumble schedule and prepare them for the NCAA tournament.
The last few Pac-12 seasons didn’t, right?
Well, we’ll see what the Big 12 has cooked up for No. 4 seed Arizona as it faces 13-seed Akron on Friday in Seattle in the East Region.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has said Arizona is ready and built for what’s ahead. And excited for what’s ahead.
“We’re going to find out,” Lloyd said when asked how the Big 12 set them up. “We’ve been battle tested. We played the fourth hardest schedule in the country so we’ve been tested. We didn’t have an easy stretch. We also know that in order for us to win we have to play our best.”
Selection Sunday
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 17, 2025pic.twitter.com/y9lfaHDAIt
Lloyd knew little about The Zips on Sunday but will by Monday morning, but knew it likes to get up and down and shoot the 3-pointer so there’s that.
This will be Lloyd’s fourth trip with the Cats into the NCAA tournament and each year it fell in what many have considered upsets, given the seedings: Arizona was a No. 1, No. 2 and No. 2 and now a 4.
“That’s pretty good,” Lloyd said.
Does it feel a little different?
“I think we’ve had a little more adversity,” he said of the season. “I’m really proud. To me, are you going to be a program that front runs everything. That’s not realistic or are you going to be a program in the tougher days you can dig deep and still be successful.
“We’re right there. Now, we’ve gotta take advantage of these opportunities.”
Lloyd said he respected the NCAA Committee’s four seed given his team had “an up and down year” but his team “hung in there.”
“It shows the strength of our schedule,” he said. “It’s good to get rewarded.”
It’s also a chance for Lloyd to go back to where he grew up – in the Seattle area, although he’s been back a few times since being hired given UA faced Washington the last three years.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about the program.”
Then added, “hopefully my wife (Chanelle) can handle all the tick demands and I can focus on the business task at hand – coaching.
Here’s a quick look at Akron from a Bleacher Report look. They called Akron a Cinderella.
The Akron Zips can run and score with any team in the country.
The MAC regular-season and tournament champion ranks 16th in adjusted tempo and in the top 50 in two-and-three-point offense on KenPom.
Akron regularly scored in the 80s and 90s in MAC play and it even eclipsed the 100-point mark on four occasions.
The Zips’ offense will be a tough matchup for the Arizona Wildcats in the first round.
Arizona did make the Big 12 tournament final, but it entered Kansas City with a 3-5 record in its last eight regular-season games.
If Akron gets past Arizona, it may have a tough time with a red-hot Oregon Ducks team, but the Ducks have allowed 74 or more points in each of their last six losses, a trend that plays in Akron’s favor.
