You know you liked Arizona’s 87-80 win over Baylor on Tuesday night, didn’t you?
You like the ending? There was no alternative ending.
It had all the drama, mystery and suspense of a movie. Clooney had Ocean’s 11 and Lloyd had Arizona’s 13, the number of victories UA has in the Big 12 Conference after the win. It was UA’s 26th overall.
There was a point there – or two or three or … – fans didn’t think a win would happen. How can the No. 2 team in the country be playing like this? Doesn’t Baylor want to win, too?
There may have been some doubt about the Cats throughout, but the suspense was over with just under 30 seconds when Brayden Burries buried a long jumper to all but seal the deal.
And all the angst was gone.
Baylor was tough – just not tough enough. Arizona continues to be tougher than a plane’s black box.
Yet, iron toughened iron on Tuesday night. Arizona should be better for it. UA was able to two-step – two-win – it out of Texas with two wins.
Tommy Lloyd called it another “gritty” win after Saturday’s other gritty win – but won’t all of them be that way the rest of the way given the circumstances? March is coming – when everything matters (after all it’s how teams are judged these days).
“I’m super proud of our guys for hanging in there, hanging in there, and that was just a hang with it game, hang with it, hang with it,” Lloyd said in his opening statement to reporters in Waco. “It took incredible toughness and fortitude from our guys. I don’t know what narrative people have about our program, but if it doesn’t start with toughness, they’re not doing their homework. So, really proud of the guys and just thought there were a bunch of great individual efforts that we can get into.”
Burries had 24 points.
Jaden Bradley had 25 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers.
Mo Krivas has 12 points.
Tobe Awaka had 12 points and 13 rebounds- yet another double double.
Now, Arizona is a win away from clinching at least a tie for the Big 12 title when it faces Kansas at home on Saturday afternoon. Who would have predicted that in October, given the roster with three then-untested freshmen? But everything has meshed to near perfection through 28 games as UA is now 26-2 overall.
“These seasons are long and these games are tough, and they can be emotional, and so sometimes when you get punched like that and you’re on the road, it’s easy to say, ‘Hey, today’s not our day,’ Lloyd said. “Our guys just don’t have that kind of character. The toughness you get from a senior leader like Bradley, the toughness you get from a freshman guard like Burries was incredibly special. Those two guys were awesome, and then I thought Ivan Kharchenkov – the game might not have come really easy to him today – but he made some really key plays down the stretch with offensive rebounds and hustle, and that was inspiring to see.”
Call it business as usual. And a reason why the national media – and the like – have fawned over the Wildcats the last couple of months. They like what they see, a unit – despite its injuries and its illnesses – have continued to bond maybe bend a little but not break.
No need to remind you – but I will – Koa Peat missed another game with a lower leg injury and DeWayne Aristode continues to be out with an illness. And they are two big pieces to Arizona good-looking, well-playing puzzle.
Adding to Tuesday’s mystery was the will-he or won’t-he play when it came to Anthony Dell’Orso, given his ankle injury on Saturday. Well, he played. And although he couldn’t roll 22 again for the second consecutive game, he did have eight points on 3-7 shooting.
“Delly, he’s a stud. He told me before the game he felt 100 percent. I don’t think he looked 100 percent but for him to say that shows his competitive character, and you see him tweaking that angle out there and hanging with it,” Lloyd said. “We just don’t have a lot of options right now. We just got to get through it … I think we hopefully have some reinforcements coming soon … they’ll be welcomed. I just think the toughness that our guys are showing physically right now, everyone’s banged up. I’m not saying we’re more hurt than anybody else, but you also have to deal with it, and you have to fight to get wins in these games and our guys are doing a great job fighting for the program.”
Adding to the mystery, was Lloyd offering this nugget on Peat: “I have got nothing confirmed, but I think we’re hopefully nearing the point where he’ll be able to play.”
Just in time for a nice stretch run to end the regular season and beyond. Get your popcorn ready.
Recommended for you
