Tommy Lloyd Makes Lofty Comparison for Arizona' Krivas

The Arizona Wildcats are advancing to the Round of 32 after a convincing win over Long Island in the opening round. Unlike other No. 1 vs. No. 16 seed matchups over the weekend, this one was never in doubt.

A key reason for the Wildcats' success has been junior 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas. He averages 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks on the season. Krivas dominated the paint against the Sharks in the first round, as he collected four blocks.

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

It always feels nice when the head coach gives you props, and that is exactly what Tommy Lloyd did to Krivas.

Krivas Draws Sabonis Comparison

Lloyd mentioned Krivas in the same breath as NBA legend Arvydas Sabonis. The 7-foot-3 center stacked up plenty of hardware in his short NBA career. He won Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in the same season.

Sabonis won MVP in just his fourth year in the league in the 1998-99 season. He was a force to be reckoned with on the Portland Trail Blazers.

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

Lloyd mentioned how he is close with the Sabonis family and sees a lot of Krivas in Sabonis.

“Lithuania has had a proud tradition of bigs with the Sabonis family and Jonas Valanciunas,” said Lloyd. “Another great big — and a name that really had an impact on Big Mo — is Shimek Karnofsky. Shimek was on our staff the last couple of years. If you remember him, we could always post him up on the right block, and he loved throwing that left-handed, behind-the-back pass. So when I saw Mo throw that pass, that’s the first place my mind went."

(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
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Lloyd Is Close With the Sabonis Family

“It’s funny — before the game, I was talking with Rod. Rod played with the Blazers with Arvydas Sabonis, and I don’t think he quite knew my connection to the family. When I told him I’m really close to the Sabonis family, he said, ‘Man, Arvydas was such a great player.’ I’m sure when Rod saw the behind-the-back pass, his mind went there as well. It was just a great play by Mo at that time.”

Moving on! pic.twitter.com/O6qIzm5Obr
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 20, 2026

Krivas will look to continue his dominance in the round of 32 when the Wildcats go head-to-head with Utah State. He is coming off a game where he scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Wildcats are very fortunate that they have a big man with the passing ability of Krivas. It opens the game up so much for the other players on the team.