• By Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star

Arizona big men go through warmups at McKale Center before they face Iowa State on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Jaden Bradley left McKale Center on Monday the same soft-spoken, understated guy he showed up as three seasons ago upon transferring from Alabama.

"I'm just a little piece of the puzzle," he said. 

Arizona Wildcats clinch Big-12 regular season title after defeating Iowa State 73-57 at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 2, 2026. 

But as usual, the Arizona senior point guard and undisputed leader didn't play quite that way. As he has for much of the season, Bradley led the Wildcats to another high point in a magical regular season, a 73-57 win that wrapped up the Wildcats' first Big 12 title on Senior Night at McKale.

Bradley had 17 points while hitting 9 of 10 free throws to help UA move to 28-2 overall and 15-2 in the Big 12, enough to win the league outright with a game remaining Saturday at Colorado.

Arizona's two key senior reserves, big man Tobe Awaka and wing Anthony Dell'Orso, also chipped in heavily: Awaka had 10 points and 15 rebounds while Dell'Orso had eight points and four assists while hitting 2 of 5 3-pointers.

"Jaden has been awesome. He's had an incredible year, UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "Tobe has come so far in his two years. It's tremendous. ...and Delly... I told you guys, he was going to be at his best when his best was needed. That's what high-character competitors do."

Together, the UA seniors helped Arizona get its third conference championship in five seasons under Lloyd, and its first since the Wildcats won the Pac-12 title in 2023-24 during their final season in that league.

"When you move to a conference like the Big 12, you don't know how it's going to turn out," Lloyd said. "Obviously I was like, `Bring it on.' But no one's predicting the future, and for us to go out and do this in our second year, I think it says a lot about Arizona basketball.

"And it's not about me, it's about the program. It's about the program well before me."

Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) is defended by Iowa State Cyclones guard Mason Williams (2) and Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) in the first half during a game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on March 2, 2026.

The win over the sixth-ranked Cyclones (24-6, 11-6) kept UA in line for a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and earned the Wildcats the No. 1 seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament, which they will open on March 12 at noon Arizona time against either the conference's No. 8, No. 9 or No. 16 seeded team.

Immediately after the Wildcats' win, the UA band played Queen's "We Are The Champions," and Lloyd acted as emcee, passing around the microphone to his seniors after congratulating his players.

Lloyd apologized to fans and later media for what was largely a purposely unscripted event. Arizona held its Senior Night event before the game and the Wildcats were not going to take the court afterward if they lost.

"I'm horrible at planning this stuff because I always fear we might not win, and I don't want to plan out an event," Lloyd said.

He had reason to fear Iowa State in particular. The Cyclones lost at McKale Center last season only after UA guard Caleb Love hit a 60-foot bomb at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, and this season have the nation's eighth-ranked defense -- and a tricky offense featuring three of the country's best players: Versatile big man Joshua Jefferson, point guard Tamin Lipsey and 6-8 sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic.

"They're a pain in the ass to play against," Lloyd said. "You can't run your offensive stuff. They pressure you out of everything and they're so good at utilizing their strengths on offense."

"I thought our guys were really good defensively today but you really have to overextend yourself to stay ahead of those guys."

Not surprisingly for a game featuring the third-most efficient defense in the nation (Arizona's) and the eighth-most efficient (Iowa State's), the game was tense and defensive-oriented in the first half.

Both teams set the tone early, with Iowa State missing its first seven shots and Arizona making just 1 of 5 while taking only a 5-2 lead after four minutes.

Arizona went on a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead, getting 3s from Dwayne Aristode and Dell’Orso while Burries left the game for nearly five minutes after appearing to roll an ankle.

But Lipsey made a 3-point play and a jumper in the paint to pull the Cyclones within three, 22-19, and after Ivan Kharchenkov turned the ball over, Iowa State’s Jamarion Batemon hit a 3 to tie the game at 22.

The Wildcats wound up holding Iowa State to just 27.3% shooting before halftime but hit only 38.5% themselves. Bradley led them to a 37-25 halftime lead by scoring 12 points while hitting all eight free throws he took.

In the second half, Arizona led by up to 16 points early and, after Iowa State (24-6 overall and 11-6) cut it to seven with 13 minutes left, led by double-digits for most of the second half.

One of the few tense second-half moments came after Lipsey took a swipe at Burries' drive to the basket and wound up hitting Burries in the eye. Burries left the court briefly while covering his face, though officials kept it a common foul on Lipsey after reviewing video to see if it was intentional and worthy of a flagrant foul.

Recovered well enough, Burries hit two free throws to give UA a 66-48 lead with 4:28 left.

For the game, UA held Iowa State to just 29.2% shooting while shooting 45.8% and outrebounding the Cyclones 40-33. Arizona also scored 11 more points at the free throw line, making 23 of 26 while Iowa State hit 12 of 13.

While the game was not closely contested at the end -- Lloyd even subbed in deep reserve guard Evan Nelson and walk-on players with 1:05 to go -- UA fans mostly stood throughout the second half, appearing to sense the impending celebration.

That happened after the game, with Lloyd letting his seniors address the crowd, with players and staffers wearing Big 12 champion gear, and with the Wildcats taking turns cutting down the McKale Center nets.

After Lloyd snipped off the final piece, he waved the net around as he descended. 

"The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country," Lloyd told the crowd, "and to win it by a couple of games, it's pretty impressive. So take your hats off to these guys right here."

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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe