Arizona basketball has clinched the outright regular-season Big 12 title. While they have a title, Tommy Lloyd still finds himself defending his team.
After defeating Iowa State to secure the title, the Arizona head coach once again defended his team, fighting back on the “lazy” narrative in his press conference after the game, according to ESPN.
“I think the narrative that we were soft is lazy. I mean, look at our stats, look at our analytics — we've always been a great rebounding team, we've always pounded the paint,” Lloyd said. “If you want to just be lazy and not pay attention and say we're soft because we're on the West Coast, be lazy, and I'd love to play against you.”
Arizona dominated on the inside. They scored 24 points in the paint, as opposed to the 16 of Iowa State. Further, they out-rebounded the Cyclones 40-33, while also having six blocks in the game. Arizona has dominated on the glass all year. They are 18th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage and fourth in offensive rebounding percentage. This has helped the Wildcats win the conference.
“The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country,” Lloyd said while addressing the home crowd after the game, “and to win it by a couple of games, it's pretty impressive. So take your hats off to these guys right here.”
Iowa State has last two in a row for just the second time this year. On Saturday, the Cyclones fell to Texas Tech for their first home loss of the year.
Meanwhile, Arizona is 28-2 on the year and projected to get a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They finish the regular season on Saturday against Colorado.
