STILLWATER, Oklahoma — By the time Arizona’s bus returned from Iba-Gallagher Arena late Monday afternoon, snaking around a tight, snow-rimmed parking lot outside their modest hotel, white flurries and 24-degree temperatures were greeting the Wildcats again.
Yep. It was just another day in the Big 12.
On their first road trip in their new conference, the Wildcats visited Cincinnati when temperatures dipped below 20, then flew quickly to West Virginia in advance of a major snowstorm… which later met them in Morgantown anyway.
On this trip, shortly after the Wildcats lost 70-54 at Texas Tech on Saturday, they flew quickly to Oklahoma City, avoiding the near-horizontal snow that blasted Lubbock that evening but instead getting confronted by more frigid temperatures upon exiting their charter airplane in Oklahoma City.
They found refuge Sunday in the Oklahoma City’s G League arena for a practice and that evening took in the Thunder-Nets, before heading into Stillwater on Monday to experience more weather fun, Big 12 style.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd and the bench react to a traveling call against Baylor during the first half of their Big 12 game in Tucson, Jan. 14, 2025.
“I think we’re getting the normal,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd told the Star after hopping off the bus. “I mean, our expectations are different. We haven’t looked at any of these trips and tried to figure out if it’s a good weather trip. I think those days are done.
“That’s home. We have home for that.”
But there’s a bonus in all that adversity away from home for the Wildcats, especially on the two double-game trips they were assigned during their first season in the Big 12: all those hours together spent captive can be put to good use, whether it’s bonding over games of Uno or digging further into improvements and adjustments that can be made on the court.
“We definitely have more time to set up a few different meetings throughout the day,” Lloyd said. “When we’re at home, it’s a little more difficult. You have a team for a block of time and maybe you’ll try to do your team film and your team practices.
“Outside of that time, if you need to meet with a guy individually, you can, but on the road, it’s a little easier. Everybody’s in the same spot and you’re here for an extended period of time. You can meet two to three times a day.”
Since the Wildcats are heading into their game Tuesday at Oklahoma State coming off their first loss of the Big 12 season, the extra time might prove especially beneficial this time. The Wildcats suffered their worst rebounding deficit of the season at Texas Tech, 16, and they will face another team that can live off the glass.
Oklahoma State was picked to finish just 15th in the Big 12 this season, and has done little to change that perception so far, but the Cowboys rank among the top 20 teams nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. They shoot only 42.1% from the field – and just 37.8% in Big 12 games — but they know how to put their missed shots back in.
The Cowboys also swipe away the ball on 12.6% of opponents’ possessions, the 30th-best defensive steal percentage in Division I.
“They’re a very aggressive team that performs within chaos,” Lloyd said. “They’re going to make the game tough, physical, scrappy, and they’re going to be coming at you from different angles with pressure and defensive stuff than you’ve seen all year.”
Arizona center Henri Veesaar gets hooked trying to reel in an inlet pass in the first half against Baylor on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, at McKale Center.
Among other things, that makes it a good chance for the Wildcats to rediscover the Henri Veesaar they lost Saturday at Texas Tech. Emerging to become a major reason for the Wildcats’ seven-game winning streak and 5-0 start to the Big 12, Veesaar was scoreless with only two rebounds on Saturday at Texas Tech, after which Lloyd wondered if he was “reverting to the mean.”
Already, before the TTU game, Lloyd had tried to warn Veesaar that his strong play meant opponents would scout against him, and Lloyd was proven correct: Texas Tech center JT Toppin confirmed that much after Saturday’s game when asked about how the Red Raiders contained Veesaar.
“It made us feel good because we had him on the scouting report,” Toppin said.“We knew what we had to do. We knew he could shoot it. So just it made us feel good, just being able to stop his rhythm.”
Coming off that experience probably made Veesaar a good candidate to sit in on a few extra meetings this weekend, whether in the gym, a hotel meeting room or just a passing moments somewhere.
“I think you just have to be realistic,” Lloyd said Monday. “Henri was trending in the right direction and, unfortunately, with development, you don’t just ascend. It’s a little bit of a jagged process. There’s a learning curve, and it’s up and down.
“He had a tough night and they maybe did a good job playing him. Maybe he just didn’t play well. But he’s got an opportunity tomorrow night to bounce back. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”
