Arizona HC Lloyd Rips Narrative Team is 'Soft' After Win vs. ISU, 'I'd Love to Play Against You'

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd called out what he believes are "lazy" narratives about his team following Monday's 73-57 win over Iowa State.

The victory secured the regular-season Big 12 title for the Wildcats, who might be assured of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament at this point.

"I think the narrative that we were soft is lazy," Lloyd told reporters after the game. "I mean, look at our stats, look at our analytics — we've always been a great rebounding team, we've always pounded the paint. 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 held Iowa State to 29.2 percent shooting, and it finished with more rebounds and points in the paint. The Wildcats also attempted 26 free throws. They won with physicality on both ends of the floor.

Arizona Crushes Iowa St. 🌵

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That has been the formula all season. Arizona ranks eighth in opponent field-goal percentage (38.8) and fourth in rebounding margin (plus-11.8). The team is also attempting the ninth-fewest three-pointers, so the vast majority of its offense comes inside the arc.

Not to mention, the Wildcats are now 14-2 in quadrant one games. They're standing tall in a conference that has five representatives ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll.

Still, a general sense of outside skepticism may linger, and the reasons far predate Lloyd's tenure.

Arizona last reached the Final Four in 2001. A lot of talent came through Tucson in the latter stages of the Lute Olson era and then again with Sean Miller at the helm. That picked back up with Lloyd's arrival in 2021.

The wait for another trip to the national semifinals nonetheless continues. The Wildcats have exited in the Sweet 16 in three of Lloyd's four seasons. The outlier was when they were upset by 15th-seeded Princeton in 2023.

Lloyd is right in that it's lazy to draw any sort of connection between Arizona's past NCAA tournament results. The narrative probably won't go anywhere, though, until he guides the program on a deeper March run.