Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd sends classy message after knocking out Utah State

Mar 23, 2026 - 05:30

Arizona continued to impress on Sunday after beating Utah State, 78-66, at Viejas Arena to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.

The No. 1 Wildcats have now won 11 consecutive games and will battle No. 4 Arkansas on Thursday in what could be an explosive affair featuring two of the best guards in the country in Brayden Burries and Darius Acuff Jr.

Coach Tommy Lloyd has Arizona playing at a high level, but he also gave props to No. 9 Utah State, which rallied from an 18-point lead to stay afloat.

“I’m not a guy who gets into the weeds and all that stuff, but that’s a really good basketball team,” said Lloyd in a video shared by KUTV’s Jenna Fink.

“If they were a five or a six seed, I wouldn’t have been surprised. If you win the Mountain West regular season and tournament, I think that’s a pretty powerful statement. We felt it out there today. It’s a team that had no quit. They kept coming and they made timely plays and timely shots.”

Tommy Lloyd says Utah State is a “really good basketball team”:
“If they were a five or a six seed, I wouldn’t have been surprised. If you win the Mountain West regular season and tournament, I think that’s a pretty powerful statement. We felt it out there today.” pic.twitter.com/wbruA22L5F
— Jenna Fink (@jennamfink) March 23, 2026

The Aggies cut the lead to six points, 70-64, with less than three minutes remaining. But the Wildcats immediately responded with clutch hits from the free-throw line to seal the victory.

Lloyd, who took over from coach Sean Miller in 2021, has now steered Arizona to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time.

Burries led the squad with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jaden Bradley scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half.

Both Motiejus Krivas and Koe Peat finished with a double-double to help the Wildcats, who have not been to the Elite Eight since 2015.

The post Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd sends classy message after knocking out Utah State appeared first on ClutchPoints.