First Final Four in 25 years.
First Big 12 regular season and conference tournament championship.
First time with a 23-0 start and 36 wins in a season.
Despite a 91-73 loss to Michigan on Saturday night at Indianapolis, all of what Arizona achieved this season outweighs the disapointment of the setback against the red-hot Wolverines (36-3).
Arizona is also 36-3, a phenomenal record when considering the Wildcats were an afterthought to begin the season because of their freshman-heavy team.
“I want to thank the players on our team and the staff — they were amazing this year,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “It was an awesome journey, as much fun as I’ve ever had coaching basketball.”
The three freshmen starters — Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Ivan Kharchenkov — carried Arizona’s scoring load most of the season and in the NCAA tournament.
They combined for 35 points against Michigan, but they shot 12 of 42 from the field.
Burries was 2 of 10 from 3-point range, bringing up memories of Steve Kerr and Damon Stoudamire struggling from beyond the arc in their Final Four losses in 1988 and 1994, respectively.
“Obviously we’re disappointed to not get it over the top for them,” Lloyd said of the Wildcats’ fans. “But we all know what’s possible again. So now let’s all roll up our sleeves and support each other and see if we can make this (Final Four appearances) a normal thing.
“That would be awesome.”
Peat, a projected lottery pick in the NBA like Burries, had a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds) in what could be his last college game. He won four straight state titles at Gilbert Perry and has four gold medals with USA Basketball. He came close to a national title with Arizona but still leaves the school a winner.
“It’s tough for me to process this right now,” Peat said in the postgame press conference. “I really haven’t processed it, but yeah, just learn from it. You’re not gonna be perfect every night, but just knowing I gave this team all I had, I can put my head on the pillow at night and be able to sleep.”
Kharchenkov, with six points and four rebounds, may return after testing the NBA draft waters.
Jaden Bradley finished with 13 points in his last college game. Motiejus Krivas, a junior anticipated to return next season, finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Fan-favorite Tobe Awaka ended his Arizona career with eight points and nine rebounds, familiar numbers all season long for the Big 12’s top sixth man.
Anthony Dell’Orso could not get on track with only three points in his final game with an Arizona uniform.
The game started ominously for Arizona with Michigan taking a 10-1 lead and a 26-10 advantage 10 minutes into the game. The previous largest deficit for Arizona this season was 12 points.
The Wildcats were 4 of 15 from the field at that point.
Burries could not get on track in the first half, missing all five of his attempts, two from 3-point range.
Arizona showed some life going on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 28-23 with 6:43 left in the half.
But, as it turned out, that was the Wildcats’ last gasp.
Michigan outscored Arizona 17-4 to pull away to a 45-27 lead with 1:47 remaining.
‘When we’ve played this model, this Arizona model this year — and they’re the souped-up version, they’re the steroid version of Gonzaga and these other teams — we just felt like if a team relies on scoring 15 feet and in … because of our size and length, it’s going to be tough to score enough points 15 feet and in if we’re making some shots and we’re in a decent rhythm offensively,” Michigan coach Dusty May said.
“I think that’s what happened tonight. I do think we matched up well with Arizona better than we have some other teams this year.”
Michigan routed Gonzaga 101-61 in November at Las Vegas. Lloyd coached at Gonzaga for two decades under Mark Few before becoming Arizona’s coach in 2021-22.
Michigan star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, formerly of Arizona Western College in Yuma, sat most of the first half after two early fouls and sprained MCL, but it didn’t matter.
Bradley picked up his third foul during the the Wolverines’ late push in the first half, and that seemed to add to Arizona’s frustration.
“I want to give credit to Michigan,” Lloyd said. “I mean, they were outstanding tonight, and really had us on our heels all night. We could never get into a rhythm. So they get a ton of credit for that. No one’s kind of been able to do that to us all year.
“It was an impressive performance by them.”
Arizona trailed 48-32 at halftime and banked on the hope of a 6-0 record previously this season when trailing at the break.
Bradley picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the half.
Michigan reserve guard Trey McKenney led the Wolverines’ scorching shooting from 3-point range to open the second half. He made all three of his attempts. Lendeborg returned and made two from beyond the arc, and Elliot Cadeau nailed a couple as Michigan pulled away.
“It’s a testament to the work we put in,” McKenney said of the perimeter shooting. “When you come in before practice, everybody’s getting their own individual work in. We all work on our game, so when we’re in the spotlight like this, we all have to the confidence we can run two 3’s in a row, whatever that may be in the situation.”
All the while, the Wolverines managed to get good looks inside and had numerous dunks off passes from Cadeau, who finished with 10 assists.
Former UCLA center Aday Mara benefitted from those interior feeds the most. He finished with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. He also had nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Michigan finished with 22 assists on 33 made field goals.
The Wildcats never seriously challenged in the second half.
Arizona had 14 turnovers that led to 26 points for the Wolverines. The Wildcats also had a season-low five assists.
“I appreciate Coach Lloyd and the staff for taking me in and giving me a fresh start,” Bradley said. “I appreciate this team. We accomplished a lot this year. We definitely wanted to win this game. But Michigan was a better team tonight.
“I appreciate Tucson. I just love this group and cherish the last couple of gatherings we have together before everybody goes their own ways. Just happy to be a part of this team.”
Burries seemed to handle well the finality of Arizona’s season, and most likely the end of his time as a Wildcat.
“We just couldn’t get it done,” he said. “Michigan, they were making a lot of shots. They played great.
“I’m just thankful, though, for the experience I had with these guys. Man, very blessed. Learned a lot about not only myself, but about one another.”
Recommended for you
