Tommy Lloyd feels at home in Seattle, ready for ‘drag-out affairs’ rest of NCAA Tournament

The Arizona Wildcats had no trouble getting by 13-seed Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but coach Tommy Lloyd is preparing for every earned postseason matchup like the “knockdown, drag-out affairs” they always are.

“I think that the coolest thing about this tournament is it’s one-and-done,” Lloyd said postgame. “It’s the coolest and worst thing about it all together.”

Lloyd knows full well that the Wildcats have not advanced past the Sweet Sixteen since 2015. However, he said each “team’s journey is unique” and that history has no determining effect — positive or negative — on how far the team will progress toward the Final Four in San Antonio.

Arizona, which will get 5-seed Oregon in the second round on Sunday at 6:40 p.m., played a complete game against the Zips. It shot 56.5% from the floor, tying its fourth-best mark of the season (59.0% being the golden standard against Arizona State on March 4). The Wildcats also notably made a season-high 12 3s (25 attempts), with game-leading scorer Jaden Bradley (19 points) having three of his own.

Caleb Love, the First Team All-Big 12 selection, didn’t need to be the hero with 10 points and only nine shot attempts. Arizona also thrived in the paint with 48 points to Akron’s 20, with nine of those 24 buckets being dunks.

Carter Bryant, who had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 20 minutes of the bench, was responsible for one of those ferocious put-downs in the closing moments of Friday’s first half. He grabbed his own three-point miss from the corner and slammed the ball home with two hands.

Tommy Lloyd at home in Washington

Arizona is coming off a solid performance in the Big 12 Tournament championship, hanging with Midwest Region 1-seed Houston. Their first-round performance perhaps boosted confidence even further.

For Lloyd, however, he is thriving off home cooking of sorts in Seattle this week as a Washington native.

Before Lloyd’s three-plus seasons in Tucson, he spent 20 years in Spokane on Gonzaga’s coaching staff. With 15 WCC Tournament titles, it’s safe to say Lloyd knows what it’s like to win in Washington state.

However, he hadn’t been back to Washington period the past two seasons coaching the Wildcats.

“It feels normal (to come back here) because I’ve done it so many times,” Lloyd said. “I don’t get up here enough. My life’s moving pretty fast right, but trust me, I’ve never forgot where I come from.”

He reflected on his time playing Little League baseball, and said he was able to get dinner with one of his childhood friends, Cody Morrison, on Thursday night.

“And what’s cool is Cody’s dad was my Little League coach and had a huge influence on me,” Lloyd said. “Almost get emotional thinking about that. I’m up here now because of guys like him.”

Lloyd added that Morrison’s dad was also his youth football coach but thankfully not his basketball coach, he said with a laugh.

This being his 26th trip to The Big Dance, Lloyd and his three children (Liam, Sofia and Maria) have spent majority, in the case of Lloyd, or all of their lives connected to the biggest stage in college basketball.

Liam, a senior guard for Arizona, even logged three minutes against Akron with the game firmly in hand. It was his 13th game appearance of 2024-25 and first since March 4 against ASU. He came to Tucson for his final season following two years at Grand Canyon (2020-22) and Northern Arizona (2022-24).

“These are special times in our family’s lives and we have lots of amazing experiences from hotel security coming knocking on our door telling us that our kids need to quit running up and down the hallway,” Lloyd said. “Now, it’s really cool to have them all here as adults.”

If they are to extend their travels and hotel stays, Lloyd’s Wildcats will have to get by former Pac-12 foe Oregon in the round of 32.

Oregon (25-9) entered the national tournament after falling in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals to conference regular-season winner Michigan State. The Ducks were 12-8 in conference play while competing on the 26th-hardest strength of schedule.

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