TUCSON, Ariz — Arizona went to Kansas and played a classic. Arizona came home to play Texas Tech and got into a good old-fashioned Big 12 rock fight.
The No. 1 Wildcats lost both games, and while no one is saying they aren’t national title contenders because of both losses, they’ll fall from the No. 1 perch in the AP Top 25 come Monday.
Life in the Big 12 is unrelenting. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd learned that last year. At times, the schedule is playing one game in the frying pan and another in the fire. Sometimes, the schedule is a just straight-up four-alarm blaze every night.
Arizona Basketball’s Brutal Stretch
There isn’t much else to explain the gauntlet the Wildcats are in right now. After playing Kansas and Texas Tech this week, the Wildcats get BYU, Houston, Kansas and Iowa State in the next three weeks. Only Baylor and Colorado offer any sort of “comfort.”
It is the most difficult stretch on the Big 12 schedule of all time? One could do enough digging and probably find a more difficult one. But this season? It might just be, and it’s a product of what commissioner Brett Yormark called “backloading” the schedule in the hope of producing huge games for television in February.
Mission accomplished. Arizona fans got ESPN’s College Gameday, halftime shows on the hardcourt and Jay Bilas and Dan Shulman on the mic. But they suffered a 78-75 overtime loss to the Red Raiders that, frankly, the Wildcats should have won.
How Texas Tech Won
“I said going into this game, ‘I feel like this will make us better no matter what, and I mean that.’” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “And this will make Arizona better no matter what. And I don’t think this last time we played them, honestly.”
The formula didn’t look great for Tech for most of the game. The offense was basically JT Toppin and Christian Anderson, who had 31 and 19 points, respectively. The Red Raiders usually have a third player step and for most of the game that didn’t happen. Still, Tech fashioned a 9-0 run going into the final seconds of the game to take a 66-64 lead. That third scorer turned out to be Donovan Atwell, who hit a spot-up 3-pointer in the corner to push Tech into the lead.
It didn’t last long. Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov made two free throws to tie the game, and Tech missed a shot to win. They went to overtime. Just another night in the Big 12, right?
Toppin dominated overtime. But so did Arizona’s Brayden Burries. He just didn’t dominate it enough. Toppin can hit shots few players can, and he scored eight of the Red Raiders’ points in the final five minutes. There was little stopping him, even when he passed out to Atwell for a key 3-pointer.
“JT Toppin was not going to be denied at the end of this game,” McCasland said.
And yet, it was a pair of missed Texas Tech shots that weren’t rebounded by Arizona — one of the best rebounding teams in the country — that positioned the win for Tech.
What Went Wrong for Arizona?
The little things, something Arizona has been great at all year, bedeviled them in the final minute of overtime.
“I think you have to be honest with them, and they got to see the shortcomings, where they are, and you’ve got to address them and then we just got to get back to work,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.
Arizona was without Koa Peat for the second half due to a lower leg injury, something Lloyd didn’t have more on the injury after the game. Dwayne Aristode missed the game with an illness that could keep him out of Wednesday’s game with BYU. Those are the first significant injury issues the Wildcats have dealt with all season.
“It’s hurt us a lot, but we had enough to win,” Lloyd said.
The offense was incredibly balanced. Five Wildcats were in double figures — Burries and Tobe Awaka with 16, Kharchenkov with 13, Jaden Bradley with 11 and Motiejus Krivas with 10. This is a team that has picked up the slack for one another all season. Saturday was no different — except for the loss.
Arizona is not going away. Neither is Texas Tech. There is too much opportunity in the road ahead for both teams. There is potential for a second meeting in the Big 12 Tournament. Maybe a third in the NCAA Tournament? Lloyd isn’t panicking. Not in the slightest.
“If you think you’re going to go through a season unscathed, you’ve never done this before,” Lloyd said. “So, you know, we need to keep our heads high. There’s no shame in losing to Texas Tech today.”
Perspective came at the end of Lloyd’s press conference. After spending time with the media, he said that his granddaughter, London May Lloyd, was born at halftime. From the McKale Center, he was heading to the hospital to see her.
“I’m going to go see her, hang out with her and reset like a normal person,” Lloyd said. “I love you guys. We’re fine. And I can’t wait to get this team back on the court and kick some ass.”
