It wasn’t as easy as Arizona fans may have liked, but the top-seeded Wildcats made it past the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals with an 81-59 win over No. 8 UCF Thursday afternoon in Kansas City.
Playing far away from the friendly confines of Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd and the UA fan base is still getting used to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. Well, that is the few Arizona fans who made the trip.
“I think our fans all waited to buy tickets,” Lloyd said after the game. “They
all assume that we’re going to San Diego, and they’re making a lot of assumptions now, and they’ve saved all their money. I just didn’t feel like we had a great presence in the arena today. So you know what? Then it needs to become all about us.”
If Lloyd sounded cranky about Arizona’s fan support, he was pumped up to be in a conference tournament where every game presents a challenge.
“There’s no easy games,” Lloyd said. “The other team always has a lot of talent and is well coached, and we understand that. We understand that. We respect that. And we enjoy the competition and love the opportunities.”
Our recap of the game can be found here. Below is what Lloyd, Motiejus Krivas and Brayden Burries said after the game.
Lloyd on Arizona getting the win: “Well, thank goodness we got off to a good start, because there were stretches of that game I didn’t think we played very well. But the objective in these tournaments is to get to the next one, and that’s mission accomplished today. And obviously we know tomorrow’s going to be a tough battle with an Iowa State team playing in their backyard, but we look forward to it.”
On what it was like coaching on a glass court: “Well, I didn’t play. I coached, so I was on fine footing. You can ask these guys. I mean, they would be able to give you a better answer about that. But for me, I mean, listen, we’ll play on asphalt. We’ll play on asphalt with double rims. I mean, we’re fine with that. And if the other team has to deal with it, then we’ll deal with it as well. But I’ll let the powers that be make those higher up decisions.”
On preparing for Iowa State: “Well, we played them a week ago or so, or ten days ago. We’ll obviously look back at that and see what worked and what didn’t work and see what kind of adjustments we can make. But we have a lot of respect for Iowa State and their program, and I have a lot of respect for T.J. and the job that he’s doing, and I have a lot of respect for their players. Like I said, we’re looking forward to the challenge. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
On whether human nature factored into Arizona letting off the brakes: “I mean, I don’t know. Maybe. You know, I really challenged our guys. Sometimes in these tournaments, you know, you get in them and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach in enough NCAA tournaments and conference tournaments that these early-round games, it can be kind of a sterile environment, you know, unless you’re playing in your backyard and you have your entire fan base there. I think our fans all waited to buy tickets, They all assume that we’re going to San Diego, and they’re making a lot of assumptions now, and they’ve saved all their money. I just didn’t feel like we had a great presence in the arena today. So you know what? Then it needs to become all about us. We need to internalize and kind of band together and become a stronger unit, and we need to create energy for each other and draw energy off each other in those situations. So I think it’s a great lesson learned from our guys. Now, listen, I’m going to give them credit for getting the lead and getting off to that great start. That was good. But yeah. It just felt like we had a little bit of a letdown, and I’m sure UCF’s urgency they played with had a little bit to do with that.”
On getting off to a quick start: “I mean, it wasn’t part of the messaging. A lot of times I tell the guys, let’s get a feel for the game and kind of hang in there and try to figure out what works and see if we can build with some runs later in the half or early in the second half. But, hey, we came out. And they had played the night before, and maybe it took them a little bit to kind of get the lactic acid a little bit, and our guys were able to take advantage of that and build an early lead. I’m never going to shy away from building an early lead, because to me obviously it gives you a buffer to absorb some of these late-game runs. And it doesn’t always feel good when teams are chipping away at your lead, but it’s nice to have that lead and be able to have that margin for error, you know, down the stretch.“
On Arizona’s fan turnout in Kansas City: “I mean, listen, you guys are asking a lot of questions here. I want to talk about the ballgame. 100 percent. Would I want this in Vegas? Yeah. 100 percent I will. But you know what? I didn’t ask to be in the Big 12. We got put in the Big 12. I didn’t have any input on it, but I love being in the Big 12. So if they tell me we’re going to play in Kansas City, we’re loading up the plane and going to Kansas City. We’re not going to sit there and overthink it. You guys can do all that stuff or have another coach give you opinions on what he would want. I just want to get on the floor and try to kick ass and play 40 minutes. That’s it.”
On the difference between playing in the Pac-12 Tournament compared to the Big 12 Tournament: “Well, you’ve got to understand the Pac-12 tournament was in Las Vegas, so it was McKale North. So we were Iowa State, we were Kansas. So it obviously feels really different for us now. But listen, it’s what we signed up for, so there’s no complaints. I mean, I’m not going to be bitter towards Iowa State fans or Kansas fans for coming to support their team. It’s not an easy haul to get from Tucson to Kansas City. So we have an amazing fan base. It looks like the tournament’s going to be here for a while, so I think we better figure out how to win in Kansas City. That’s where my mind’s at.
On the difficulty of the Big 12 Tournament: “Well, I mean, it’s a monster. It’s a monster. We’ve been in it two years. Every game’s tough. With UCF coming out today, what are they, the eight, nine seed? Eight seed. And they’re a really good team that’s going to be in the NCAA tournament. There’s no easy games. The other team always has a lot of talent and is well coached, and we understand that. We understand that. We respect that. And we enjoy the competition and love the opportunities.”
Krivas on what it was like playing on the Big 12 Tournament court: “It’s a little bit different, but no big differences. I think it’s good for the fans on the arena and the TV, so all thumbs up.”
Burries on the court and arena conditions: “Yeah. I think you’ve just got to get used to it real quick. Just the first five minutes when you’re warming up, just get used to it. But other than that, it’s pretty good. And then like the only thing I didn’t like was if you’re shooting a free throw and you’re on the other side, the LED lights get in your eyes a little bit. But ain’t no big deal, really.”
