Arizona's Tommy Lloyd: No. 1 or not, 'we know we've got our hands full' with Wisconsin

If anyone on the Arizona Wildcats’ roster has reason to think a No. 1 ranking can be a burden, it’s guard Caleb Love.

He was the leading scorer on a North Carolina team that ranked No. 1 before last season but ultimately didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, and his shooting inefficiency along the way also helped put him in position to take heat for all those unfulfilled expectations.

It’s all past history, sure — “I haven’t really thought about last year” Love said Thursday, when asked if the Tar Heels’ slide from the top last season carries into his mindset now — but the No. 1 thing also a developing new story he’s a part of.

Love is now the leading scorer on an Arizona team that hit No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in nearly a decade Monday, just before the Wildcats have to face Wisconsin, Purdue, Alabama and Florida Atlantic over a potentially unnerving 15-day period.

So, predictably, neither Love and UA coach Tommy Lloyd talked Thursday about their ranking as much as where they wanted to keep going. Lloyd said the Wildcats are still “trying to grow” and trend upward, while Love said even the Wildcats’ less-experienced players are striving to get better.

“I think we’ve all got a great head on our shoulders, especially the young guys,” Love said. “They kind of follow our footsteps as far as staying poised, staying humble. We embrace everything that’s coming to us and ... we just want to continue to get better each and every day.”

But how does that work when everyone’s already telling you that you’re the best? Does it get harder for a coach to get that message across?

Lloyd answered that one quickly.

“It’s not harder for me,” he said. “Listen, the outside noise is outside. That’s always the case. Good. Bad. Average. It’s always on the outside. On the inside, we have a strong culture and a belief in the things we do, and we just try to get better at that stuff.

“Everybody telling you how good or how bad you are has no impact on what’s happening inside our locker room.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

As a longtime assistant coach at Gonzaga, Lloyd gained plenty of experience with this sort of situation. The Zags were ranked No. 1 during parts of five seasons over his two-decade stay in Spokane, including the entire “COVID” season of 2020-21, when they suffered their first and only loss in the NCAA championship game.

But, when asked if he’s learned things to help remove the pressure from all those No. 1 rankings, Lloyd also made little of the question.

“It’s not much more complicated than coming out and playing really hard, playing with great passion, playing together — and I don’t think you need a ranking to do that,” Lloyd said. “I don’t think there’s anything crazy. I mean, we haven’t talked about it. We don’t have a banner hanging up in the in the locker room or anything like that.

“I know this: We could get our butts kicked on Saturday and still have a great season. That’s how seasons go,” Lloyd said. “We’re hoping to play a good 40 minutes on Saturday and anything beyond that, I mean, we really haven’t thought too far ahead.”

Maybe it helps the Wildcats to have the Badgers up next. Instead of facing a solid mid-major team that might catch them in a moment of complacency, the Wildcats will face a Wisconsin team that is coming off a homecourt victory over then-No. 3 Marquette last Saturday and a 13-point win at Michigan State on Tuesday.

Wisconsin runs a similarly balanced and pass-happy offensive system as Arizona, setting up 17 of 23 baskets at Michigan State with assists, but does it at a much slower pace. The Badgers are also a veteran bunch that returned all five starters from its NIT semifinal team last season, the antithesis of today’s typical transfer-portal built roster.

“We’re getting prepared to play the best team we’ve played so far this season,” Lloyd said. “They’re on a roll right now. They might have started out and dropped a game or two against good teams, but I think they’ve got that figured out. They’ve beaten really good teams lately and they beaten them handily. We know we’ve got our hands full.”