Arizona basketball coach on Iowa State showdown: 'I hate words. I like action.'
Through eight games, Arizona's first season in the Big 12 has been a success.
But Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd knows there is a hard road ahead. And that road starts Monday with No. 3 Iowa State coming to town.
Arizona (13-6, 7-1) and Iowa State (17-2, 7-1) are tied for second place in the Big 12, one game behind Houston (16-3, 8-0), who beat Kansas in a double-overtime thriller on Saturday night.
The winner of Monday's primetime matchup between Arizona and Iowa State will be all alone in second place, with a fighting chance to catch Houston. More importantly, though, Monday's game is a big-time NCAA tournament resume builder.
Arizona Needs Quad 1 Wins
Arizona is currently ranked No. 16 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats are projected to be a No. 6 seed in the West Region in the latest ESPN Bracketology projections.
Iowa State is ranked No. 6 in the NET and projected to be the No. 1 seed in the West Region.
Why is there such a big gap in seeding between the two teams? Quadrant 1 victories.
A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NET, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET. Iowa State is 6-2 in Quad 1 games; Arizona is 3-6.
A win over Iowa State would give Arizona four Quad 1 wins and would likely vault them into the top 10 of the NET Rankings.
'You've Got To Earn That Right'
When Lloyd was asked about the Iowa State game on Saturday — after his team had dispatched Colorado 78-63 — he had strong words about his team's mindset.
"I'm not going to make it as 'our season hinges on Monday,'" Lloyd said. "But obviously it's a great opportunity for our program, and we ain't even thinking about winning the Big 12. Not yet. You've got to earn that right. You've got to earn that right. Because anything else is just words. And I hate words. I like action."
"So let's see if we get there. Let's see if we get there. And if we get there, it'll be a hell of an accomplishment. We'll figure it out. But if we don't, we're going to fight to get to the NCAA tournament and see what can happen there. But we're not in the position as a program right now to be talking about winning the Big 12."
Iowa State Guards Are A Problem
Iowa State has arguably the best guard trio in the country in senior Curtis Jones (18.6 ppg), senior Keshon Gilbert (15.5 ppg) and junior Tamin Lipsey (9.9 ppg). And 6-foot-9 Saint Mary's (California) transfer Joshua Jefferson (12.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) is emerging into one of the best forwards in the Big 12.
The Cyclones are coming off a 76-61 victory at Arizona State on Saturday that featured a 33-point performance from Jones.
"[Iowa State is a] really good team playing with a ton of confidence. They've got a real identity, and they own it," Lloyd said. "It's been impressive to see. Those three guards in the back court are rock solid. Their bigs are tough. The Jefferson kid is really coming on. They're formidable, and when you have an identity and you have confidence and you have veteran experienced players that are used to winning ... man that's a potent combination."
The Iowa State at Arizona Big 12 showdown is scheduled to tip off Monday night at 8:30 p.m. MST/9:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.
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-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.