Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd is tipping his cap to the school he used to work for. Lloyd gave a thumbs up to Gonzaga's band as they saluted Lloyd following his team's win over Dayton on Saturday. Arizona is headed to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 after knocking off Dayton 78-68 in a Round of 32 contest.
#Arizona prevails 78-68 against #Dayton. Tommy Lloyd, Oumar Ballo, Rem Bakamus, Ricky Fois, Przemek Karnowski and the rest of the former Zag crew move on to the Sweet 16.
Lloyd acknowledges the GU band chanting his name walking off the floor. pic.twitter.com/IcsnqRIKJf
— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) March 23, 2024
The Gonzaga band chanted the name of the Arizona basketball coach as he left the floor following the game, per the Spokesman-Review. It was a kind tribute to Lloyd, who worked as an assistant at Gonzaga under Mark Few for 20 years before taking the Arizona job. Arizona and Gonzaga are each playing their March Madness games at the same site in Salt Lake City.
Lloyd has it rolling with Arizona basketball. The Wildcats are in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row under the coach. The squad is also headed for the second Sweet 16 in the last three seasons. Lloyd is in his third season at Arizona and has led the Wildcats to March Madness every year he has been at the school.
Caleb Love poured in 19 points for the Wildcats, who held off Dayton from the Atlantic 10 in a tough back-and-forth game. Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larson each had 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona. Arizona basketball is now seeking its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2015.
“We’ve been really talking about just being steady, staying locked in,” Lloyd said after the game, per the Arizona Desert Swarm. “Obviously, not getting too high, not getting too low. As a staff, we have a pretty active, emotional staff, so we talked about us kind of taking a breath and just helping our guys stay in that zone.”
Lloyd and his two schools
Lloyd had never been a head coach before taking the Arizona basketball job. He had spent his entire working career at Gonzaga, so it is surely very sweet to him to receive that kind of love from his former school.
He joined the Gonzaga staff in 2000 as an administrative assistant before becoming an assistant coach on the team in 2001. While at Gonzaga, Lloyd was on the staff for two teams that went to the national championship game.
He went to the NCAA Tournament every year he was an assistant at the school under Mark Few. He left the school in 2021, to take the job in Tucson.
The long wait to be a head coach turned out to be worth it. Arizona is now in the second weekend of the tournament in the team's final season in the Pac-12 Conference.
Arizona is leaving the Pac-12 along with Arizona State, Colorado and Utah after the season is over. The schools are going to the Big 12. The Pac-12 is imploding, as only Oregon State and Washington State will remain once the year is over.
Arizona basketball plays the winner of the Baylor-Clemson game in the next round.
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