Arizona basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd coached in Gampel Pavilion for the first time in his career, and he's been doing this for almost 30 years. It only made sense that Lloyd walked away with the win, and that's what he did, defeating UConn 71-67. In the process, he made college history, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
“Via ESPN Research: Tommy Lloyd now has eight wins over AP top-five teams since taking over at Arizona in 2021-22. That's the most by any coach in their first five career seasons in AP poll history,” Borzello wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
It was Jaden Bradley who led the way for Arizona, finishing with 21 points, including a layup late in the game to help seal the deal. That score was a part of a 7-0 run that put them ahead for the remainder of the game after they blew a 13-point lead.
After the game, Lloyd spoke about the win and how this can help them continue to build as the season continues.
“This win here isn’t going to mean we’re going to be a great team in January or February, but the next two weeks of practice and our preparation will have more say in how we’re going to be down the line,” Brian Pedersen of Arizona Desert Swarm. “We’re going to get on the plane, we’re going to get home really late, we’re going to take tomorrow off, and then we’re just going to get back in the gym, and it’s going to be the normal process, and we’re really, really going to double down on getting better the next couple of weeks.”
Arizona has gotten off to a strong start to the season, as they're currently 5-0, but Lloyd knows the job is nowhere near finished. If they can keep getting wins like this, they may be a team to watch out for late in the year.
