Arizona was not the best team in college basketball.
That fact was proven true not just in the team’s Sweet 16 loss to Clemson, but throughout the course of the entire season.
There were games and moments where they looked like they could at least compete with the best, such as the road win at Duke and the victories over Michigan State, Wisconsin and Alabama. Their blowout victories over tournament-bound Colorado also gave reason to believe in the deepest and most experienced roster of the Tommy Lloyd era.
And yet when it was all over the team’s occasional issues with shooting and defensive lapses ultimately led them to lose to an opponent who, make no mistake, was not nearly as good as the Wildcats.
But that’s the NCAA Tournament for you, where one off game or exceptional performance from an opponent can send you home.
We all know this, of course. The tournament is great theater but not exactly the best way to determine who the true best teams are. Upsets are commonplace and the only thing that’s guaranteed is all but one team will finish its season with a loss.
Once again Arizona is left wondering not only what could have been, but what must be done in order to get back to the dance’s third weekend. If a veteran-laden roster with a high seed and a seemingly favorable path to the Final Four couldn’t do it, can it even be done?
Can Lloyd, the coach who has guided Arizona to losses against lower seeds in each of his first three seasons, get them there?
The answer to both questions is yes, even if it doesn’t feel that way now.
Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in last year’s tourney which ended up losing in the Sweet 16, is going to the Final Four this year. Purdue, which fell in the first round last season as a 1-seed, is going to the Final Four this year.
Until this season neither Nate Oats nor Matt Painter were capable of getting their teams, no matter how talented, to the final weekend.
Now look at them.
Arguably the key for both and, really, any program to finally break through is to consistently give itself that opportunity not only with tournament berths, but good seeds within.
And on that front, Arizona has been doing great. The Cats earned a No. 1 seed in Lloyd’s first season and played their way into a 2 seed in each of the last two. The numbers, be it from Evan Miyakawa’s, KenPom’s, NET or otherwise have consistently liked what’s happening in Tucson.
Despite the consistent change that rosters tend to undergo, Arizona has consistently put quality teams on the court, finding talent both in traditional recruiting and via the portal while integrating all the new pieces seemingly with ease.
That most assuredly won’t always be the case, and the move to the Big 12 will give the program little margin for error if the goal is to compete at the top of the conference. But season after season we have seen even the best coaches and most notable programs have the occasional dip, and in some seasons a team need not be particularly great to reach the Final Four.
See State, North Carolina.
But for Arizona’s sake let’s just hope they continue to earn top seeds each year. While they guarantee nothing, they (in theory) make the road easier. More than that, they are meant to be an indicator of how good the Wildcats are.
This year’s Cats were pretty dang good. They just happened to play one of their worst games when they could not afford to do so.
“I’m proud of these guys. They dug deep all season we worked really hard on taking the next steps of our culture with Arizona basketball, really hard, and we’re very intentional with it,” Lloyd said after the Sweet 16 loss. “These guys are great … and they really allowed me to kind of continue to build on the foundation of what we started at Arizona and what was there before us.
“So I’m thankful for that, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re just going to continue to build on that foundation. We’re going to continue to get teams that are this competitive, and our day in the sun will come.”
Back in 2011 Arizona, under second-year coach Sean Miller, made a surprising run to the Elite 8. One shot away from the Final Four, the team fell short but it certainly felt like the new coach would get the job done.
He did not. Came close, but couldn’t get the right draw, bounce or break to get to the tournament’s third weekend.
Through three seasons Lloyd has not gotten as close as Miller, though he has also made three times as many NCAA tourneys as his predecessor during his first three years. Different eras and different rosters to start with, but the point remains: Lloyd has been quite successful.
Not in the NCAA tournament, where he has just a 4-3 record and has lost to a lower seed each year, but everywhere else. In recruiting, where currently has the third-ranked class for ‘24, in the transfer portal and in the regular season, where his early-career record is among the best in history.
As long as that continues Arizona will remain one of the country’s best teams. And given that the best teams tend to be the ones who play until the end, eventually the Wildcats will do just that.
At least, they should.