No. 2 Arizona clinched its first outright Big 12 regular-season title behind senior point guard Jaden Bradley’s 17 points on Senior Night in a 73-57 win over No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena.
The accomplishment came almost 40 years to the day (March 3, 1986) when Arizona achieved its first Pac-10/12 title at UCLA behind freshman Sean Elliott.
Tommy Lloyd “this team has a chance to do something special.” pic.twitter.com/qalC74vY7P
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) March 3, 2026
Tommy Lloyd broke Brad Stevens’ record earning his 140th career victory as a head coach in his fifth season.
The Wildcats (28-2, 15-2 Big 12) earned their fourth straight win against a ranked opponent and fifth consecutive overall.
Iowa State (24-6, 11-6) has lost three of its last four games, all defeats against ranked opponents.
Senior Day at @ArizonaMBB. Tobe Awaka has been a Wildcats’ culture warrior! pic.twitter.com/I2jTqjlfqy
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) March 3, 2026
Tobe Awaka, a senior also celebrated on Senior Night, finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Motiejus Krivas had 13 points and Brayden Burries finished with 11.
Arizona’s reserves outscored Iowa State’s bench 28-17, highlighted by Dwayne Aristode’s eight points while making two 3-pointers. Aristode experienced his first extended play since missing four games with an undisclosed illness.
Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 17 points and six rebounds and Joshua Jefferson had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Both played through foul trouble, with each finishing with four fouls.
Jamarion Batemon had 14 points.
Milan Momcilovic, averaging 17.4 points a game while shooting 52.5% from 3-point range entering the game, was held to five points on 1-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
Iowa State shot a season-low 29.2% percent (18 of 64) from the field, 23.3% (7 of 30) from 3-point range.
"That is as good of a team as we've played against in the time I've been the head coach at Iowa State."
-T.J. Otzelberger on Arizona
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) March 3, 2026
After a 3-pointer by Batemon with 4:02 left in the first half, Arizona outscored Iowa State 15-3 the rest of the half in a key stretch of the game.
Lipsey was whistled for his second foul with 3:11 remaining and Jefferson his third with 2:33 left.
Arizona took advantage of that by holding Iowa State to one of its last six shots from the field in the half.
The Wildcats made four of their last six attempts.
Krivas had six points, including a 4-of-4 performance at the free-throw line, in the 15-3 run that gave Arizona a 37-25 lead at the half.
Bradley had 12 points while making all eight of his tries from the free-throw line.
What a night for @ArizonaMBB, as they are named Big 12 Regular Season Champions So proud of the hard work the team has shown all year. Wildcat fans, thank you for packing the house this season! pic.twitter.com/M0L6G5gbxW
— DR_Francois (@DRFrancois1) March 3, 2026
Arizona built its lead to 43-27 with 16:20 left on a Bradley jumper, but Iowa State responded with a 9-1 run.
Lipsey’s layup with 13:19 left capped the run and cut the lead to 44-37.
Jefferson’s fourth foul was called with 12:58 remaining. He re-entered with 11:41 left.
Arizona scored seven unanswered points, five by Krivas, to take a 51-37 lead with 10:17 remaining.
The Wildcats went on a 10-3 run to open a 66-48 lead with 4:28 left.
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