Tommy Lloyd goes off after Arizona's sloppy win over UCF: 'I'm upset with how dumb we played'
In this story:
The Arizona Wildcats have won six in a row, but Tommy Lloyd is not happy.
Arizona built a 14-point lead over UCF in the first half on Saturday night, only to see it dwindle to three at halftime. The Wildcats extended their lead to 17 points in the second half, but kept UCF in the game by taking bad shots and turning the ball over.
Arizona (10-5, 4-0) won 88-80, but Lloyd went off after the game. Here are the highlights of his postgame press conference:
Lloyd On Arizona's 'Dumb' Play
"There are so many positives today, and I'm trying to hone in on those because obviously I'm upset with how dumb we played. And there's no other way to put it. We just, we were dumb. Our fundamentals were poor. Our late game execution was poor. And it's just not acceptable."
"Hey, I love the result and I told the staff and the players, if somebody would have told me when we got back to Tucson after the UCLA debacle that we would be 4-0 in conference, I probably wouldn't have believed you. So I love where we're at. But I'm also going to fight for where we're going."
"Arizona basketball does not play dumb at the end of a game, and we just weren't good enough. We weren't good enough at the end of the game. ... Whether it's disrespecting the game or getting casual — whatever you want to call it — we've got to be better. And those guys that are playing heavy minutes, they've got to be better at the end of a game. They have to be better. There's no other way to put it. I can try to put them in better positions and maybe the best position might be off the court. ... Those are conversations we're going to have because winning is important and we need to value those opportunities. And we just didn't today."
Lloyd On Arizona Being An 'Us Program'
"I mean, we do come out and get off to a great start. I thought our energy was good. I thought the defense was okay. Offensively I thought we were clicking, and then it's like we get a little bit of a lead and — you go back and if you watch possession by possession — it's just like 'are we really making the best play for the team?' "
"And we've been guys when we've struggled this year, we haven't made the best play for the team. When we've been good, we've made the best play for the team. It's really not complicated. And I think that's probably almost all teams across the board. So we've got to be better. We've got to be better in those moments. We've got to be better in that first half. Not that I expect a 14-point lead to turn to 28 to turn to 56. I don't expect that. But I expect that to be better, and we weren't better. But we responded. We found a way. We won a tough conference game at home against a formidable opponent."
"It's being being nonchalant. Maybe a little bit selfish. ... We don't need to be a me program. We need to be an us program."
Lloyd On Being 'Mature Competitors'
"I think the common theme is your opponents are really good and you need to respect your opponents. Now, you build a lead so you must be pretty good to build a lead on a good team. Now respect it. How do you handle it? And I don't need the lead to grow from 14 to 20, but I don't need it to go from 14 to zero. And so that's where we've got to get better. I mean we've got to get better possession by possession, because they all add up. All these possessions add up. It's something we've talked a lot about and worked on and that's why I was a little bit frustrated tonight. I just didn't think we did a great job of seizing the opportunity and seizing the moment. ... It's a teaching moment for us, and you know what? I do love teaching after a win. I will admit that."
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.