Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd: ‘Put us in as a 13-seed, we’ll be fine’ in NCAA Tournament

Tommy Lloyd had no interest in playing the hypothetical game on Saturday when looking toward Arizona’s NCAA Tournament future.

“I don’t live in hypotheticals. I have no idea,” Lloyd told reporters when asked for his Selection Sunday expectations. “Put us in as a 13-seed, we’ll be fine. We can’t wait till Thursday. … I will let you speculate on that. Whatever they give us, I’m ready.”

Arizona was a projected No. 4-seed entering the day, according to BracketMatrix.

“The moment we shower, leave this locker room, it’s on to the next thing. We’re excited to be participating in the NCAA Tournament. It’s an honor. It’s something you should never take for granted. It’s really hard to do,” Lloyd said. “I can’t wait to see whose name pops up on our line tomorrow. We will be excited to meet them next Thursday or Friday.”

He said his squad was “right there” in a 72-64 loss to top-seeded Houston in the Big 12 Tournament Championship, which solidified the Cougars’ projection as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re right there, but it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter if you close the gap or not. You gotta get it done,” Lloyd said. “We’re used to winning championships, too, and we know that’s where we belong and that’s where we want to get. Right now, Houston is above us and we’re going to do what we can to close that gap.”

Arizona’s biggest area of concern ahead of NCAA Tournament

Lloyd said Arizona is a good defensive team, which is what left him so disappointed with how Houston players targeted and attacked Wildcat defenders.

“We got isolated and targeted a little bit and we didn’t get stops. It wasn’t complicated stuff. It was literally picking a guy, we’re going to go at this guy, and we’re going to score on him,” Lloyd said. “Step up. Step up as a competitor. It’s one-on-one in the park, with your brother in the backyard. That’s what we do. That was disappointing to me but it’s obviously something we gotta get better at.”

Defensive metrics, such as KenPom and BartTorvik, suggest Arizona is a middling defensive team when compared with tournament-bound peers, with the Wildcats ranking 32nd and 27th, respectively, in defensive efficiency.

Each of the teams Arizona faced in its Big 12 Tournament run were within a point or two of their season averages, as the Wildcats relied on their own offense to push them ahead.

The bracket will be revealed Sunday afternoon starting at 3 p.m.

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