The Arizona Wildcats picked up a major win on Monday night, defeating the Iowa State Cyclones 73-57, helping them clinch the Big 12 Conference title.
Arizona outscored the visitors 37-25 in the first half and kept the lead secure throughout the second half. Defense also played a big part, as they held Iowa State to just 29 percent shooting and shot 46 percent overall at home.
Jaden Bradley led the Wildcats with 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Motiejus Krivas scored 13 points and Brayden Burries added 11. With the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments looming, Arizona’s head coach responded to criticism of his team’s on-court performances.
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“I think the narrative that we were soft is lazy. I mean, look at our stats. Look at our analytics. We’ve always been a great rebounding team. We’ve always pounded the paint. So if you wanna just be lazy, not pay attention, and say we’re soft because we’re on the West Coast, be lazy. I’d love to play against you,” Lloyd said.
“If you wanna compete at the highest level, you gotta be ready to go toe-to-toe with somebody, and I think that’s how we’re built,” he said at his postgame press conference.
Arizona currently holds a 28-2 record overall, which includes some significant wins along the way. Early in their season, they won out-of-conference games, defeating the UConn Huskies and Florida Gators, two talented teams vying for a top seed in the tournament.
More recently, they defeated teams in their conference that are typically considered powerhouse rivals, with back-to-back wins over the Kansas Jayhawks and Iowa State. Several games before that, Arizona took down then-No. 2 Houston in another conference battle.
With one game remaining before tournament play, the Wildcats are ranked 18th in the NCAA in points per game at 86.6 and sixth in the nation in rebounding with an average of 43.2 boards per game.
They’ll finish their regular-season schedule on Saturday when they visit the Colorado Buffaloes. Then Lloyd and Arizona begin the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday, Mar. 10, and soon after await their bracket spot, which continues to look like a No. 1 seed.
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