Tommy Lloyd, Arizona’s coach, was asked this week if his team would reduce the nets to win the Pac-12 regular season championship. This question was raised after Saturday’s match against California.
He said that only if the Wildcats win.
There is no problem. No. 2 Arizona won its first season under Lloyd with a dominating performance. They defeated Cal 89-61 and became the first Pac-12 team ever to win 18 conference games.
Oumar Ballo scored 16 and Bennedict Mathurin added 13. The Wildcats also celebrated their Pac-12 title by scoring the nets. Pelle Larsson scored 13 points, while Justin Kier was senior.
Lloyd pointed to the Pac-12 championship trophy and said, “From where they started and where are now, that’s what I didn’t expect.” “I didn’t want it to be celebrated too early.”
Arizona (18-2) won its first conference title in four year with a win of 91-71 over No. 16 Southern California won on Tuesday. Then, Arizona (28-3, 18-2) took home the conference title with a 91-71 win over No.
The Wildcats won the conference’s Bay Area team by a wide margin, establishing a 17-point advantage midway through the first period with a 19-2 run.
Arizona scored 49 points in paint and shot 65% to finish at 17-0 at its home during Lloyd’s first season. This is a good result for a team that was unranked when it started the season.
Kier said that even though we had reached our goal, we still wanted more. He played his last home game. “We will continue to be hungry until our desires are fulfilled.”
Cal (12-19, 5-15), played well for some time without point guard Joel Brown because of a knee injury but couldn’t recover after Arizona’s huge early run. Jordan Shepherd was the Bears’ leading scorer with 16 points.
Mark Fox, Cal coach, said that “We got a bit tired and made some costly mistakes there in the 2nd half defensively.” “You cannot afford to lose against a team as talented as theirs, that’s what you can do.”
Arizona won the first meeting against Cal Jan. 23. They built a 14-point advantage in the first six minutes of play on their way to a 96-7 win. Similar results were seen in the rematch.
The Wildcats created transition opportunities by using their defense and pounding on the ball inside. They built a 26-9 lead halfway through the first period. Ballo scored 11 points, including three rim-shaking jump dunks.
Arizona started to cool down in the second half. One field goal was made at the end of the period. However, Mathurin scored consecutive 3-pointers to restart the game. Arizona made seven of its 10 first shots, and then hit 15 of 23, to extend the lead to 66 to 46.
Cal’s worst offensive performance of the season was to start the final weekend, shooting 31% in a 27 point loss to Arizona State.
The Bears’ offensive problems down Interstate 10 brought them to Tucson. They cranked one after the other early. Cal rebounded from Arizona’s huge run and began hitting some shots. The run ended with a 14-4 run that brought the score to within 40-31 at halftime. The Bears had some good offensive plays in the second half but could not stop Arizona defensively.
Fox stated that Fox made some costly mistakes early on, and if they could have fixed them, we could have been even at halftime.” “Our second-half defense was just too weak.
BIG PICTURE
California: California finishes the season with four losses in five matches. However, the Bears showed some strength in one of college basketball’s most difficult road venues. This could be a help to them in next week’s Pac-12 Tournament.
Arizona: A dominant performance in Arizona’s home season was the Pac-12’s best. The Wildcats now travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Pac-12 Tournament. They hope to secure a No. The NCAA Tournament will be the 1 seed.
BAL’S IMPACT
Arizona’s Adama bal has only seen limited time in his freshman season. Lloyd tried to adjust the French guard to college life.
Lloyd recognized the athletic 6-foot-6 Bal’s progress in practice, and rewarded him with a lot of playing time.
Bal entered the game in a hurry, made his first shot in 17 minutes and scored seven points with 3-of-4 shooting.
Lloyd stated, “It’s almost like when you have an extremely talented pitcher and you leave them in the minors until they’re ready.” He was ready.
UP NEXT
California: Wednesday opens the Pac-12 tournament.
Arizona: The Wildcats are No. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in conference tournament. They have a first round bye. Thursday’s quarterfinals will be against Arizona State-Stanford.
