NCAA Tournament: What Tommy Lloyd, Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat said after Arizona’s Sweet 16 win over Arkansas
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 26: Head coach Tommy Lloyd of the Arizona Wildcats looks on against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images SAN JOSE—There have been plenty of games this season when Arizona jumped out to a big lead early, only to see it get chipped away by the opponent. The win at BYU in January comes to mind, as does the Big 12 final when Houston turned a 15-point deficit into a 1-point game.
The Wildcats bucked that trend on Thursday, building a double-digit lead midway through the first half and maintaining it the final 36-plus minutes. And once they got up 20 in the second half they never saw that margin get below 16. “Sometimes, when things are coming easy, offensively … sometimes you just have a flow and it’s going easy, a rhythm, it’s hard to stay in that rhythm for an extended period of time,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after the 109-88 win over Arkansas.
“Whatever, maybe you let your guard down a little bit or you say we’re playing great, maybe I’ll shoot this three instead of turn this one down and drive it. Our guys did a great job of just staying steady and making the game simple and trying to find our advantages every possession. ” Arizona advances to its first Elite Eight since 2015 where it will face Purdue on Saturday.
Our game recap can be found here . Below is what Lloyd, guard Jaden Bradley and forward Koa Peat said afterward: Lloyd on playing an up-and-down game: “Felt like long stretches of that game we couldn’t get a stop. But it’s one of those games where sometimes you’ve just got to keep scoring, keep putting the pressure on them, keep putting the pressure on them.
I thought our guys did a good job of that. I thought their talents were on full display, and their character and teamwork. I’m just really proud to be their coach.
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