OK so Arizona is good. Like, really good.
The No. 1 Wildcats dominated BYU on the road before an interesting final minute made the game too close, but as has been the case in every game this season Arizona was able to do enough to come away with the win.
At 21-0 they are looking every bit the Final Four and national championship contender, a team that is poised to set school records and exorcise some of the program’s most stubborn demons.
Seemingly devoid of any significant weakness but overflowing
with strengths and advantages, the attention both locally and nationally ratcheted up even more after Monday’s victory.
This week Charles Barkley referred to this year’s NCAA tournament as the “Arizona Invitational”, SLAM is featuring Arizona on its cover and it’s safe to say if there was any thought of the Wildcats somewhat flying under the radar and playing in the shadow of the Michigans, Dukes and UConns of the world, well, it’s a thought no longer.
The Arizona Wildcats have arrived.
Saturday’s game at Arizona State will do a good job of showing us if the players actually believe that. The Sun Devils are not a particularly good team and in fact according to EvanMiya.com are the worst opponent left on the schedule. Rivalry or not, being able to get up for games like this are a real test of not necessarily a team’s ability, but its maturity.
It’s one thing to play hard and focused when nobody believes in you or when you’re facing a top opponent in a hostile environment. That should be easy. However it’s something entirely different bringing that same energy and edge when facing an overmatched adversary who you already beat a couple weeks ago while not even playing particularly well.
That’s human nature.
Hopefully it’s not this team’s nature.
Ideally this team understands there will be no banners hung for anything it has accomplished up to this point. There likely have been no celebrations for being No. 1 in KenPom or having consecutive weeks as being the unanimous top-ranked team in the country. Confetti hasn’t rained down from the rafters after any of the wins nor has the team cut down any nets after the game was finished.
Arizona has won 21 games and hasn’t won anything yet.
“Obviously, I’m excited we got off to a good start, but we’re on a much bigger mission than getting off to a good start,” Lloyd said Thursday when asked about his team approaching a school record for wins to start a season. “So, you know what? The next game happens to be at Arizona State.
“It’s been it’s been set that way all year. So, next up, and I’m looking forward to practice today and and hopefully today’s practice leads to a a good practice tomorrow, which hopefully leads to a good performance on Saturday.”
That’s the right idea.
Lloyd went on to say his team doesn’t talk about winning streaks, only about preparing for the next game.
“It’s honestly that simple,” he added.
Is it?
For the teams that are truly great, yes.
Arizona appears to have the right mindset, with its mix of veterans and freshmen combining to form a team that approaches the game with a business-like attitude. Lloyd, too, likely has the ideal temperament to guide such a team given his experience with elite squads at Gonzaga and then terrific teams at Arizona who, for one reason or another, fell short of its ultimate goal.
At least we think that’s the case.
Arizona can prove it true not necessarily by winning every game, as nice as that would be, but instead continuing to do the very things that provide confidence that this team has the right mental makeup to get the job done.
That is seen not only in a confidence against ranked teams in hostile environments, but against bottom feeders in games the Cats should win. Because as we all know nothing is guaranteed, and even if Arizona is indeed the best team in all the land it does not mean they can’t be beaten.
As long as the team is aware of that, they should be just fine.
