Arizona gets intriguing 'family' matchup in latest March Madness prediction
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Tommy Lloyd might be returning to his home state for Arizona's first-round NCAA Tournament game.
And he might have to coach against one of his good friends.
In the latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections from ESPN, released Friday, Joe Lunardi has Arizona (20-10, 14-5) slotted as a No. 4 seed in the South — and headed to Seattle for the first round. Lloyd was born and raised in Kelso, Washington, about two hours south of Seattle. He spent the first 21 years of his coaching career on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington.
Lunardi predicts Arizona will play No. 13 Lipscomb in the first round, with a potential matchup against No. 12 Boise State in the second round. Boise State's head coach, Leon Rice, was an assistant at Gonzaga from 1999-2010 and is close with Lloyd and his family. Before last season's first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with former Gonzaga coach Dan Monson and Long Beach State, Lloyd talked about the depth of the relationships between Few's former coaches and their families.
“I don’t think you guys understand how close we are. I mean, we’re a family. And that doesn’t mean we’re not professionals or not on our own paths. But we’re literally a family," Lloyd said last March. "And it’s a very unique situation. I mean, our kids are more like cousins than friends. Our wives are best friends, us coaches have been in the battle together. We’re great friends. So, I mean, I think the relationships run that deep. You guys obviously don’t see it publicly, because we’re not doing it publicly It’s all privately."
Arizona's path to a higher seed
Arizona has a chance to improve on its NCAA Tournament seed by beating Kansas on Saturday, then going on a run in the Big 12 Tournament next week.
If the Wildcats string together three consecutive Quad 1 wins and advance to the Big 12 Tournament championship game, they could find themselves on the 3-seed line — and with a better region placement.
Being placed in the South isn't terrible, but it comes with a lot more travel if they advance. If Arizona is placed in the West, they would face a short flight to San Francisco for the Sweet 16 vs. Atlanta (South) or Indianapolis (Midwest).
Arizona faces Kansas on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. MST in its regular season finale. If the Wildcats win they will likely be the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and won't play until the quarterfinals on Thursday.
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
-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.