The NCAA Tournament’s pod system was designed to give more top seeds the chance to play first-weekend games closer to home, but there are no guarantees beyond that.
Rest time and travel can vary considerably. Some teams advance from a Thursday-Saturday pod to a Thursday or Friday Sweet 16 game, some go from a Friday-Sunday to a Friday … and others get crunched with a Sunday to Thursday transition.
Even as a No. 1 seed three seasons ago, the Wildcats were squeezed. They had less than four days to transition from an overtime game in San Diego on a Sunday to a Sweet 16 date with Houston in San Antonio on a Thursday.
Then they lost 72-60.
This time, the Wildcats’ turnaround challenge is even worse. In fact, it’s about as difficult as it could possibly be.
Arizona finished a Friday-Sunday pod with a late game in Seattle against Oregon, and again instead of feeding into a Friday-Sunday second weekend, was assigned a Sweet 16 game on Thursday.
In New Jersey.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd discusses the Wildcats' second-round NCAA Tournament win over Oregon, saying how much fun they had and how much he thought of performances by Anthony Dell'Orso, Tobe Awaka and Caleb Love.
So that’s less than four days of turnaround time, the need to fly coast-to-coast, and adjust to a three-hour time difference.
“You know, it’s the old deal: You’re happy to still be involved,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Tuesday, on a Zoom call with Arizona-based media. “For me, there’s no reason to be complaining or making a stink about something that I really had no control over. We’ve got to adapt to the situation. Duke’s in the same situation.”
Duke did have to go from a Friday-Sunday pod into a Thursday-Saturday situation, too, but the Blue Devils played near their campus earlier Sunday in Raleigh, N.C., then were able to rest at home before making the easy hop to Newark on Tuesday.
Arizona needed a three-hour flight just to get to Seattle and faced a difficult choice Sunday night: They could take another three-hour flight home into the wee hours Monday, then spend about 36 hours in Tucson before turning around for Newark — or just head straight to Newark.
Arizona chose the direct route, leaving Seattle at noon Monday and arriving in Newark at about 8 p.m. Eastern time.
That means, by the time they face Duke on Thursday, the Wildcats will have been away from home for nine days. But after the San Diego-Houston transition three years ago, Lloyd figured it was the least worst option.
“Travel was tough that night” from San Diego, Lloyd said. “We got back to Tucson really late, like two or three in the morning.
“Monday was a tough day, with everybody trying to get their feet under them, then Tuesday was a travel day to San Antonio. Then you played Houston on Thursday.”
Lloyd said his staff and UA administrators made the decision to skip home this time, with the NCAA signing off on it. Lloyd said he felt good about it and hoped it pays off Thursday.
The two UA players who also joined the Zoom media call, guards Caleb Love and KJ Lewis, also supported the idea.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) gives his teammates a thumbs up as he heads out to defend late in the second half against Oregon in Seattle on March 23.
Love said the Wildcats’ flight Monday was long but better than if they had traveled back to Tucson only to take another one to Newark. He said Wildcats have used the extra time for rest, recovery and video preparation, and Lewis agreed that they were better off staying away from home.
“Caleb hit everything right on the head,” Lewis said. “We’d rather be here instead of in Tucson at this time. We’re trying to get prepared for a good game on Thursday. That’s where our mindset’s at.”
Just in time
Although Arizona center Tobe Awaka had 11 first-half rebounds to help the Wildcats overcome an early 15-point deficit and take a four-point lead at halftime of UA’s 87-83 win over Oregon on Sunday, he sat out from the 8:40 mark until 49 seconds remained.
Arizona’s lead shrank from 68-61 to 80-78 over that span, but 12 seconds after Lloyd reinserted him, Awaka rebounded a missed jumper by Oregon’s T.J. Bamba, allowing the Wildcats to hang on from there.
It wasn’t clear if Lloyd was simply being cautious with Awaka and/or liking the offensive rhythm he had with Henri Veesaar up front, but the UA coach declined to say what his philosophy was in that moment.
“We’re going to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years,” Lloyd said. “Sometimes as coaches, you’ve got to make tough choices. Tobe played great. He came in and got a big rebound at the end. We’ve been closing with a certain lineup for a while, had some success with it.”
Pastner HC at UNLV; Bibby to Sac State
Two members of the Wildcats’ 1997 national championship team were both named to head coaching jobs Tuesday, with Josh Pastner taking over at UNLV and Sacramento State hiring Mike Bibby.
Pastner is already a veteran of 14 seasons as a head college coach, having run programs at Memphis (2009-10 to 2015-16) and Georgia Tech (2016-17 to 2022-23) before spending the past two seasons as a television analyst after Georgia Tech fired him in 2023. He is 276-187 as a head coach.
“This has always been a dream job for me, and I fully recognize the significance of UNLV in the landscape of college basketball,” Pastner said in a UNLV statement. “The program holds great importance for both the Las Vegas community and the region, and I am eager to unite Rebel nation with the goal of restoring the program to national prominence.”
The No. 2 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, Bibby is returning to the city where he spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings. He has coaching experience at the youth and high school levels in the Phoenix area.
“Since 2001, Sacramento has felt like home to me,” Bibby said. “The people, the fans and the passion they have for the city and their teams is unmatched.”
Flagg wins double honor
In an announcement that could be repeated with other postseason awards ahead, Duke forward Cooper Flagg became only the fourth player ever to be named both the USBWA’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Only Zion Williamson (2019), Anthony Davis (2012) and Kevin Durant (2007) have pulled off a similar double.
Meanwhile, Duke coach Jon Scheyer was named a finalist for the Naismith’s Coach of the Year award.
Different strokes
After missing all 10 3-pointers he took during Duke’s first two ACC Tournament games, Duke guard Tyrese Proctor went 6 for 14 against Louisville in the conference tournament final and heated up more last weekend.
Proctor, an Australian guard who once took a recruiting visit to Arizona, was a combined 13 for 16 from 3 over Duke’s NCAA Tournament wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Baylor last weekend. That made him the first Duke player to hit at least five 3s in back-to-back tournament games since 2010.
Scheyer credited Proctor’s toughness and work ethic for the turnaround, while Proctor said preparation has helped.
“It’s behind the scenes putting in the work and trusting myself,” Proctor said after Duke beat Baylor 89-66 on Sunday. “When I’m on the court, I’m just playing free and having fun out there.”
