Arizona’s Mentality Not Wavering Despite Lowly First-Round Opponent

The Arizona Wildcats will certainly have a change of pace in their first game of the NCAA Tournament, facing off with the 16-seed Long Island Sharks in the Round of 64.

Arizona more than deserved a top seed in the tournament, entering with a 31-2 record, and sweeping both the Big 12 regular season and Big 12 conference tournament titles. They spent nine-straight weeks at No. 1 in the AP Poll amidst a 23-0 start, and have consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous teams in the country across numerous metrics.

Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) dribbles downcourt during the first half against the Houston Cougars during the men's Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Wildcats have also earned 16 Quad 1 wins and eight Quad 2 victories. They endured a gauntlet throughout the season, snatching wins over 12 ranked opponents this season, including two wins over Iowa State, two wins over BYU, a win over Kansas, UConn, and Florida, and two wins over Houston — one of which clinched the Big 12 championship.

Arizona’s Opponent

Nov 22, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Long Island University Sharks guard A.J. Neal, Jr. (10) drives the ball by Illinois Fighting Illini guard Brandon Lee (1) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Their first round matchup with LIU will be a little different. LIU got in thanks to clinching the Northeast Conference title, finishing 24-10 overall, and 15-3 in their conference. The Sharks lost both of their matchups against top-25 teams in non-conference play, losing by 40 to Illinois and 15 to Georgia.

Long Island is ranked 216th at KenPom, a far stretch down from Arizona’s ranking of 2nd. Despite the seemingly strong odds that Arizona comes away with the win, head coach Tommy Lloyd has emphasized that the team isn’t approaching this game any differently.

Feb 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd yells out to players during the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Lloyd’s Thoughts

“Everything’s the same,” Lloyd said. “We're treating everything the same. We're not doing anything different this week. We're not going to practice any differently this week. We’re just going to double down on what we've done all year, and double down on a strong culture and double down on respecting our opponents and valuing preparation.”

“That’s how it always is within the program,” he added. “We understand what the tournament is and that it's an exciting thing for a lot of people. But, there's spectators, and there's participants, and we're participants. We're going to approach it one game at a time, and go from there. We're not going to get ahead of ourselves.”

Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd stands on the sidelines during the first half against the Houston Cougars during the men's Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Wildcats will look to take care of business against the Sharks and advance to the Round of 32, where they’ll face the winner of Villanova vs. Utah State. Arizona is looking to earn its second national title in program history with a memorable run in this season’s tournament.