Looking back, 40 years ago, Arizona won its first ever Pac-10 regular season title during the 1985-86 season. Overall the Wildcats achieved 40 conference titles throughout its history.
On Monday night at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena, No. 2 Arizona (28-2, 15-2 Big 12) made history in its dominating 73-57 win over Iowa State by securing its first Big 12 regular season title since joining the conference in August 2024.
At times, it wasn’t pretty with both Arizona and No. 6 Iowa State (24-6, 11-6) shooting below 40% and the game looking sloppy at times. However, the Wildcats’ defense sparked the team, creating 17 fast-break points, which ultimately was the difference in the game.
Overall, Arizona finished the game shooting 46% from the field while holding the Cyclones to a season-low 29% from the floor.
The win over Iowa State gives head coach Tommy Lloyd the most wins by a Division 1 coach in their first five seasons in NCAA history with 140.
Now, the Wildcats still have one game left against Colorado and the Big 12 tournament before March Madness begins.
It is more than likely that Arizona has locked up one of the four No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament with an impressive win over the sixth-ranked team and has totaled 14 Quad-1 wins this season.
Now, with the game in the books, we at All Sports Tucson have come up with our three takeaways from the night.
Dwayne Aristode is back
After missing 4-straight games due to an unknown illness and only seeing three minutes in the game against Kansas, forward Dwayne Aristode managed to collect 16 minutes of action on the floor against Iowa State.
Not only did Aristode play 16 minutes, he was a spark off the bench for Arizona recording eight points while going 3 of 6 from the field, two of the shots from 3-point range and the other a put-back slam.
“I mean, Dwayne was awesome. It’s as good as he’s played all year,” said Lloyd. “… Dwayne really didn’t get back to us til we got back here just before the Kansas game. And so, obviously we didn’t do much at practice yesterday. So for him to come out and play like that, it’s really cool.”
Plus, he was able to help the team on the defensive side of the court and made it difficult for the Cyclones’ offense.
One of the biggest things he was able to do for Arizona was stretch the floor. His one miss from 3-point range went in and out.
If he can continue this momentum, Aristode gives the Wildcats depth and a much needed 3-point shot off the bench.
Bradley’s growth
At the start of the season, no one had point guard Jaden Bradley on any preseason watch lists, or honors. In fact, some people questioned if he could be the primary ball handler on this team now with Caleb Love gone.
Well, it took those questions and criticisms and answered each one with a resounding, yes.
From start to finish, Bradley has been the steading force, the true point guard and the closer that Arizona needed. Against Iowa State, it was no different with him scoring a team-high 17 points and snagging four rebounds, three steals and two assists to help put away the Cyclones.
“Man, we recruited Jaden out of high school and he was a good player,” Lloyd said. “He had a solid freshman year at Alabama. Then he came here and we really challenged him to get better with some of his techniques and packages and he’s done that.
“And listen, the staff can get some credit but he deserves most of the credit because he’s the guy that’s put in the work and has been receptive and open minded to some of these things. What’s really cool is that he’s kind of made it his own.”
The growth that Bradley has shown from when he transferred to Arizona from Alabama is incredible and shows the development prowess of Lloyd and the hard working mindset of himself.
Wildcats’ defense
Arizona is a great offensive team with weapons all over the floor that can go for 20-plus points any given night. What makes this team great and separates them from others is the elite-level defense the Wildcats exhibit night in and night out.
Not only did Iowa State have its worst shooting performance of the season but star forward Joshua Jefferson struggled all night long by going 2 for 17 from the field and finishing with 12 points.
Jefferson had been averaging 16.5 ppg while shooting 47% from the field. The Wildcats’ defense smothered him and made him work for every point.
Iowa State’s 3-point sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic was also shut down. He entered the game averaging 17.4 points a game while shooting 52.5% from 3-point range. He was held to five points on 1-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc because a defender never left him. They did not leave him for help defense and switched quickly on screens.
Arizona’s defense might be the difference between the Wildcats being an Elite Eight level team to a national champion.
The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season on Saturday against Colorado (16-13, 6-10) with the game tipping off at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
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