All Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats really need to know is they’ll have a game on Thursday. Probably a pretty good game.
Then, if they win that one, another game Friday with the possibility of playing yet another on Saturday.
That’s all that really matters. You can call it the Big 12 Tournament, or the “postseason” (even though it technically isn’t). You can talk about the T-Mobile Center's glass playing floor, ESPN GameDay's Saturday appearance, the school-inspired concession food or the entertainment across the street at Kansas City’s Power & Light District.
For the Wildcats, none of that really matters. Arizona has spent most of the season on track to receive a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and, regardless of seeding, appears almost locked to visit San Diego for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and, if the Wildcats advance, a second weekend in San Jose, Calif.
So, more games this week. Important games, but no more so than any others this season. No more so than the Wildcats’ season-opening win over Florida, their Feb. 28 homecourt win over Kansas or even their mid-January win at UCF.
Yet there are still things they can accomplish this week. Here’s a few:
1. Keep the momentum
Teams that are locked into a high NCAA Tournament seed often have little to gain during conference tournament week — and could even benefit from extra rest should they lose before the conference final — but there’s also something to be said about getting used to and surviving a single-elimination event.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka (30) eyes the basket as Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) tries to defend in the second half during a game at McKale Center on March 2, 2026. Arizona won 73-57.
After all, that’s what the NCAA Tournament is famously about.
“We're going to let it play out,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We only have so many guys on the roster, so our main guys are gonna have to play. There's no options where guys aren't playing.
“We want to have our eye on the big picture but we're also competitors, and sharpening yourself in a tournament environment against other Big 12 teams is great preparation for the NCAA Tournament.”
Already, 18 games of Big 12 competition has helped, the way center Tobe Awaka looked at it.
“It does get you ready for March,” he said.
2. Re-sharpen the rotation
Arizona rode a tight eight-player rotation to a conference-record 23-0 start, but the Wildcats had only been back to full strength for two games before they played Colorado on Saturday.
Forward Dwayne Aristode missed four games with an illness, Koa Peat missed 3½ with a lower-leg injury and guard Brayden Burries was dragged down with a bout of bronchitis before and during a two-game trip to Texas. Also, wing Anthony Dell'Orso dipped briefly while recovering from an ankle and foot injury on Feb. 21 at Houston.
Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) snares a defensive rebound from Texas Tech forward Leon Horner (6) in the second half their Big 12 game, Feb. 14, 2026, in Tucson.
This time of year, other guys are always banged up one way or another.
But after Arizona beat Iowa State 73-57 on Monday to clinch the Big 12 title, Lloyd said his players hit the floor for practice again Thursday and “looked fine.” He said he didn’t anticipate setting minutes restrictions on Peat or anyone else as much as adjusting as necessary on the fly.
“We see how the game's going, see how guys are moving, see how guys are feeling,” Lloyd said. “Then make those decisions once the game's playing. I hate to limit ourselves or create self-fulfilling prophecies.”
While the extra games could give Arizona a chance to regain continuity with its rotation, playing up to three games in three days poses an extra challenge: Should Lloyd trim minutes on a Friday for anyone, keeping them fresher for a possible championship game the next day, or just to gain some cumulative rest before the NCAA Tournament?
Basically, should they go all out or save some energy for the NCAA Tournament?
The Wildcats have seen it go both ways. In 2022 and 2025, they reached the Sweet 16 after playing in their conference tournament final. But they also reached the Sweet 16 in 2024 despite losing in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals and going home a day early.
And, memorably, after they slogged their way to the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament championship with guard Kerr Kriisa (shoulder) and center Oumar Ballo (broken hand) both suffering injuries, they were bounced out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament by 15th-seeded Princeton.
“I'm sure you could find whatever evidence you want to support your theory,” Lloyd says. “You could say winning in the conference tournament helps prepare you to win games in the NCAA Tournament: 'Look at all these teams that have (done that and) went on to win national championships.' And I'm sure you can say, losing in the tournament early allows you to go get more rest: 'Look at all these teams that went on to win.'
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd organizes the Wildcats during a time out in the second half against BYU, Feb. 18, 2026, in Tucson.
"I think it's a hard argument to know one way or the other, and honestly, it probably depends on your specific team and how they're feeling at that time. How healthy are you? How much do you need the rest? How much do you need confidence? All those things play into it.”
3. Keep learning
Up to three more games against Big 12 teams means up to three more games against tough competition.
That could benefit the Wildcats next week, in the Final Four or even next season.
During their first run through the Big 12 Tournament last season, Arizona had a chance to face Kansas in its first game, avenging a loss at Allen Fieldhouse just five days earlier, then outslugged second-place Texas Tech in the semifinal.
That put them in a championship game against eventual national runner-up Houston, which wore the Wildcats down for a 72-64 win. The Cougars became 3-0 against the Wildcats under Lloyd, including a Sweet 16 win in 2022 and a 62-58 game at McKale Center in February 2025.
The Arizona bench watches the final moments against Houston for the championship in the Big 12 Tournament, March 15, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
But the experience might have helped the Wildcats survive a tense, four-point win over Oregon a week later in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
And this season? Arizona won at Houston 73-66 without Peat and Aristode, taking over first place in the Big 12 for good that day.
“That opportunity to play Houston again helped us play them this year," Lloyd said. “The more times you get to play somebody and get familiar, I think it's important, especially teams that are really unique, like the Houstons, the Iowa States.
"You can have all these thoughts in your mind of what you want to do, and you get out there on the court and they don't work. You need live repetition against them, even as a coach, to figure out what works best. So anytime you play good teams, it'll help you one way or another.”
