Tommy Lloyd Gives Rival Big 12 Coach Credit After Arizona Win

Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats went into Houston and took down Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars over the weekend. Nonetheless, Lloyd has shown his Big 12 rival counterpart plenty of respect.

Lloyd added to his highly impressive head coaching resume with the win. The team is now 25-2, and 12-2 in Big 12 play this season, ranked #4 in the AP Poll. After taking down #2 Houston, Arizona became just the 2nd team since 2000 to beat three AP Top 3 teams this season (Florida, UConn, Houston). The other team was Kansas in the 2011-12 season.

Lloyd’s resume

Since joining Arizona in 2021, Lloyd’s head coaching record is 137-35, good for a 79.7 winning percentage. He’s become one of the best head coaches in the entire sport in such a short amount of time. Ironically, he credits a lot of his success to coaching against Houston’s Kelvin Sampson.

Feb 16, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson watches his team play the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

“I don’t know where my coaching career is going to end up,” Lloyd said. “But I do know one thing, I’m going to have become a better coach coaching against Kelvin Sampson, 100 percent. You look at coaches that kind of set the benchmark in certain areas, and for me, he’s one of them. What he’s done with this program down here, it’s been amazing. The kind of run [Houston is] on down here kind of reminds me of where I came from. I was at this little old school called Gonzaga, and no one really believed, but they had a hell of a head coach just like [they] have. The head coach at Gonzaga, and the head coach at Houston have willed these programs to be elite, and that’s really inspiring for me.”

Feb 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd reacts while coaching against the Houston Cougars in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Sampson, Lloyd share similar rises

In a way, Sampson’s rise in the coaching realm is similar to Lloyd’s. Sampson had previously been a head coach at Washington State, Indiana, and most notably Oklahoma before spending roughly six years as an NBA assistant coach.

Feb 10, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson watches play against the Utah Utes during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

At the time that Sampson took over, Houston’s basketball program was severely lacking. The team had been to the NCAA Tournament just once since 1992, and was in desperate need of a savior. Sampson has done just that, turning the Cougars into a hoops powerhouse over the last decade and change.

Houston has won 30 or more games five times under Sampson — and is on pace to do it a sixth time this season —,being a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, and reaching the championship game last year.

Now, the two coaches are on a collision course to run the Big 12 for the next several seasons. Lloyd will look to take his team over the top this season as they continue their quest for their second national title in program history.

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