Wildcats Have Point of Attack Ready Versus Utah State

Arizona is moving on to the Round of 32 after demolishing Long Island in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. A 92-58 win displayed the Wildcats' mindset and mentality. The opening-round game was never close for a second.

The Wildcats will take on Utah State in the second round this evening. The Aggies are coming off a close win over Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This will be a big test for the Wildcats, as the Aggies are a very good and well-coached team.

2nd Round Sunday at 4:50 MST on TruTV pic.twitter.com/uk5RHD3fS1
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 21, 2026

Point of Emphasis

Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd stated a key game plan going into tonight's game versus the Aggies.

“I don’t feel like it’s a Utah State thing in particular,” said Lloyd. “I think anytime you can push the pace before teams have set their base defense, it’s going to give you advantages. The No. 1 thing is taking care of the basketball and being able to rebound — that’ll allow you to push the pace. But I don’t think we’re going to look to push the pace any more than we normally would.”

Utah State Breaking the Mold

(1) ARIZONA CRUISES 😼

The Wildcats take care of business against (16) LIU with a 92-58 win to dance into the Round of 32 🪩 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ouoh7eNF5Q
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026

Lloyd made sure to give the Aggies their flowers and hinted that they should have been seeded higher than a No. 9 seed.

“I’m not an expert at where people should be seated, but from my experience, no matter who that 8-9 game is, it’s always a tough game,” said Lloyd. “You’re playing a really good program. They happened to win their conference regular season and their conference tournament, so I’m sure they have a gripe. For me, I don’t really get caught up in that stuff. I knew whoever we would be playing in the second round, they’re going to be a great program."

“Offensively, they’ve got a really creative system. It’s based on a lot of player movement, and they have multiple options within it. There are a lot of teams that run dribble-drive stuff or are ball-screen centric, and they’re a team that’s kind of breaking the mold. But they also have good players and are opportunistic in ball-screen situations. So, yeah, definitely a unique system, and it’s going to present a lot of challenges.”

Lloyd Has Wildcats Locked In

Cats Advance. pic.twitter.com/x51PxvFUQs
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 20, 2026

Lloyd mentioned that he and his team are treating this game like another road game. They do not want to get caught up in the moment.

“I’m sure we’ll have another film session. The guys will go to a good dinner, and we’ll try to continue to build the game plan and the scouting report throughout the day,” said Lloyd. “For us, it’s kind of a normal day — we’re treating it like a typical day-before-the-game routine, with a road-game vibe. That’s how we’re approaching it.”