I had to chuckle a week ago when Arizona beat Oregon in the NCAA Tournament, Round of 32 in Seattle. It matched Tommy Lloyd, in his fourth year of head coaching, against the Ducks’ Dana Altman, in his 36th year as a head coach.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd gestures to the crowd behind the Wildcat bench as he leaves the court with a 87-83 win over Oregon in the second half of their round of 32 in the men’s NCAA Tournament, Seattle, March 23, 2025.
Three years ago, when the Ducks lost 84-81 to No. 3 Arizona at McKale Center, Altman infamously said, “Tommy’s been doing a real good job with all of Sean’s guys.”
Indeed, Lloyd’s 24-2 team that night included Sean Miller recruits Kerr Kriisa, Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry, Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko.
But when Arizona eliminated Altman’s Ducks in Seattle, it was an all-Lloyd roster. To his credit, Lloyd isn’t known to have told Altman, “you’re pretty good with all that Nike money.” Lloyd is 5-2 against the Ducks.
