Why didn’t Arizona Wildcats clip nets after beating KU on Saturday in Tucson?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Arizona clinches at least a share of Big 12 regular-season title with win Saturday.
- Tommy Lloyd urges focus on possession-by-possession execution for next games.
- Kansas stays tied for fourth; teams jostle for Big 12 tournament seeding.
Arizona’s men’s basketball players and coaches, if they chose to do so, could have capped a festive Saturday by clipping the nets after a rousing 23-point victory over Kansas before a sellout crowd of 14,688 fans at McKale Center in Tucson.
That celebration presumably will occur if the No. 2-ranked Wildcats (27-2, 14-2), who have wrapped up at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title, defeat No. 4-ranked Iowa State (24-5, 11-5) in an ESPN Big Monday game back at McKale.
“It’s awesome, but the job’s not done,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after his Wildcats gained revenge on the KU team (21-8, 11-5) that defeated the Wildcats 82-78 on Feb. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I don’t think you set a goal (at the) start of the year, ‘Let’s tie for the Big 12 championship.’ Let’s see if we can win it. We’ve got a couple games down the stretch here to give ourselves an opportunity to do that,” Lloyd said. “Let’s focus on Monday and see if we can get it done Monday. And then if we can, we’ll take a breath and see if we can get it done Saturday.
“The Big 12 is a monster. We all know that. We know we have to earn our keep and we know that we’re going to be given nothing. I don’t say that in a bad way. We want to earn everything we get. If you can earn a conference championship, that’s a good first step.”
Arizona still could claim an outright title even if the Wildcats lose to Iowa State on Monday, Senior Day, in McKale. Arizona closes the regular season Saturday at Colorado.
“I might tell our guys (leading up to the ISU game), ‘We put ourselves in position to win a conference championship. Let’s go take advantage of the position we’re in,’” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said his team’s focus needs to be on the present, not just game by game but “possession by possession.”
“I know it’s not sexy and it’s not fun, but it’s really cool to be present in the moment and locked in on doing something possession by possession,” Lloyd said, “not being distracted by what happened in the past or what may happen in the future.”
As far as KU’s position … the Jayhawks remain in the running for a top-four seed for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament.
KU, which will next play Arizona State (6-10) at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Tempe, Arizona, and conclude with a home game versus Kansas State on Saturday, is currently tied with Iowa State for fourth in the league at 11-5.
Arizona is 14-2 followed by Houston and Texas Tech (both 12-4), ISU and KU (both 11-5), UCF and TCU (both 9-7), BYU, West Virginia and Cincinnati (both 8-8), Colorado and ASU (both 6-10), Oklahoma State and Baylor (both 5-11) and Kansas State and Utah (both 2-14).
Kansas looked as if it might leave Tucson on Saturday still in the running for at least a share of the league title when it sliced an 18-point deficit to two (49-47) with 12:07 left. A run of 16-0 that went to 27-9 put it away for Arizona with 4:42 to play.
Lloyd explained to the media Saturday what he said to his players when the margin dipped to one basket.
“I just told our guys, ‘We’re going to win the game. Take a breath. Stay steady. Let’s see if we can put together a little bit of a run here,’” Lloyd said.
“... Get a stop and score. Get (another) stop and score. It’s not much more complicated than that.”
Lloyd called Saturday “a great day overall.”
“We understand the magnitude of when these two programs play, what it means. That’s just a testament to the history and the legacy of both places,” Lloyd said. “For us, it’s one of 18 games in a conference schedule and it counts as much as any of the other ones.
“We wanted to take care of business today at home against Kansas. I thought our guys obviously came out and we made a great run (19-0 in first half), then they were able to make a little run back at us and then we were able to make another run and then kind of finish it off.”
He was not surprised KU cut a huge deficit to two.
“When you get a lead, what it allows you to do is absorb a run.” Lloyd said. “You always are going to have respect for your opponent. Kansas is a great program (with a) great coach. They are not going to roll over.”
Lloyd had asked his fans to bring their A-game to McKale on Saturday just as KU’s fans did in the Jayhawks’ win over Arizona in Lawrence.
They delivered.
“Our crowd is great,” he said. “Our crowd generally is very, very good. So let’s not act like it’s not. But if you want to be in that top, top tier — we’re talking top five and we know we want to be there as a program — I think it takes just a little more intention from the fans. Like, if you understand the impact you have on the game and how much more fun you have. Aren’t you having more fun if you’re screaming and yelling than if you’re just sitting there nervous?
“My deal is the greatest thing about Arizona basketball is it brings southern Arizona and the state of Arizona together. When we play, I know it’s an event here. ... But everyone in Tucson and everyone that’s an alumni of here should get together with other people, use it as an opportunity to congregate, to hang out with friends, hang out with family.
“... So yes you felt the community rise up today, and I think that’s really special. My deal was like, why don’t we do that every time? Why don’t we use it, make it a celebration every time? Why does it just depend on who we’re playing?”
This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Why didn’t Arizona Wildcats clip nets after beating KU on Saturday in Tucson?."
