Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd tops ESPN list of Coach of the Year candidates

Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd is the current frontrunner for Coach of the Year in a ranking compiled by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf.

Other candidates for the award include Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg, Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington and Michigan’s Dusty May. However, Borzello argues Lloyd’s resume and the Wildcats’ unprecedented success this season makes him the early favorite.

Lloyd has guided Arizona to a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons in Tucson, including a 1-seed in 2022. Now he has his best roster since taking over. One of the final two unbeatens of the season, the Wildcats’ (23-0) record includes wins away from home over UConn, BYU, Florida, and Alabama. Arizona lost five of its top eight players from last season, including leading scorer Caleb Love and NBA draft lottery pick Carter Bryant, but are on an eight-week run at No. 1 in the AP poll after debuting at No. 13 in the preseason.

Lloyd previously took home Coach of the Year honors in 2021-22 after leading the Wildcats to a Pac-12 regular season and tournament title in his first season in Tucson. He’s also the only coach in the program’s history to be named Coach of the Year.

Following three Sweet Sixteen appearances in four seasons, Lloyd has now helped Arizona achieve the best start in school and Big 12 history with a 23-0 record.

And that’s even with plenty of roster turnover this season. Lloyd addressed that by bringing in No. 9 overall recruit Brayden Burries and No. 11 overall recruit Koa Peat, who lead the Wildcats in points per game. He also brought back junior Motiejus Krivas and seniors Tobe Awaka and Jaden Bradley.

As a result, Arizona has the sixth-best offensive rating (126.1) and the second-best defensive rating (89.0) in the country, according to the latest KenPom Ratings.

The next two weeks will most likely determine Lloyd’s case for Coach of the Year with road games against No. 11 Kansas and No. 8 Houston and home games against No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 16 BYU on the horizon.

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