Tommy Lloyd reassures Arizona fans after heartbreaking loss to Houston
02/16/2025 11:14 AM
Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd isn’t happy his team lost a close game to Houston Saturday. Lloyd understands that fans are also frustrated, but he wants to reassure them. Arizona is still tied for second place in the conference standings.
Lloyd says building a winning culture can take time. Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson for instance is in his 11th year at the school.
"You know how long it took them to establish that?" Lloyd said, per The Athletic. "It takes a while. This stuff just doesn't happen overnight. You're building a culture. In this day and age, you know how hard it is to build a culture, to build a style of play when there's so many changes going on? Arizona basketball is right where it should be. We're knocking on the door."
Arizona is 11-3 in the Big 12 this season, following the 62-58 loss to Houston. The Wildcats also have a 17-8 overall record.
Arizona basketball is in its first Big 12 season
The Wildcats have had a bit of an up and down season. After losing two games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament around Thanksgiving, Arizona basketball stormed back to take a second place spot in the Big 12 during conference season.
Arizona is in its first season in the conference. They joined Arizona State, Colorado and Utah before the campaign began. The league has 16 teams and has to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest conference in college hoops. The Big 12 plays 20 conference games.
Arizona basketball is a blue-blood program in the sport. Former coach Lute Olson built Arizona’s program into something special, and Lloyd is trying to continue the tradition.
Lloyd is in his fourth season at the school. He’s been to the NCAA tournament each year he’s been in Tucson. The coach has taken Arizona to the Sweet 16 twice, but is looking for his first trip to the Final Four.
Before he came to the desert, Lloyd worked as an assistant coach under Mark Few at Gonzaga. He clearly has been around great coaches, and Arizona fans want him to build that winning culture for their program.
Arizona has six conference games left before the Big 12 tournament. The program is two games behind Houston now in the conference standings. Arizona and Texas Tech are tied for second with 11-3 marks.
Arizona basketball next takes on Baylor in Waco on Monday night. Baylor is 16-9 on the year.
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