Arizona Desert Swarm - All PostsYour No. 1 free source for all things Arizona Wildcatshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46873/ds-fave.png2024-03-18T16:00:00-07:00http://www.azdesertswarm.com/rss/current/2024-03-18T16:00:00-07:002024-03-18T16:00:00-07:00SB Nation Reacts: How many games will Arizona men’s basketball win in NCAA Tournament?
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<p id="fJh4DK">Arizona has earned the No. 2 seed in the West Region for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will open play Thursday in Salt Lake City against No. 15 seed Long Beach State.</p>
<p id="Grjpda">It is the third year in a row for the Wildcats (25-8) to make the tourney, though last year’s run was short-lived after a first-round upset at the hands of Princeton. But being in the West Region might be a different story, as Arizona has made it to at least the Sweet 16 in five consecutive NCAA tourneys when coming out of the West.</p>
<p id="7avkVE">How many games do you think the UA will win in the Big Dance? Take our survey, and we’ll have the results up Wednesday.</p>
<p id="NvJhz6"><em>Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in </em><a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com"><em>Arizona Wildcats</em></a><em> fans and fans across the country. </em><a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/6Q70N2/"><em>Sign up here</em></a><em> to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.</em></p>
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<aside id="c2DA5T"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"NCAA Tournament: What to know about Long Beach State, Arizona’s first-round opponent ","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24105097/ncaa-tournament-what-to-know-about-long-beach-state-arizona-wildcats-opponent"},{"title":"None of what Arizona men’s basketball has done to this point matters as much as what happens next ","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24103024/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-commentary-ncaa-tournament-pac12-oregon-long-beach-analysis-2024"},{"title":"2024 March Madness: Opening odds for Arizona vs. Long Beach State first round matchup ","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24103151/march-madness-arizona-long-beach-first-round-odds-2024-betting-lines-ncaa-basketball-draftkings"},{"title":"What Tommy Lloyd said about Arizona’s NCAA Tournament seed, facing Long Beach State","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104435/arizona-wildcats-tommy-lloyd-long-beach-dan-monson-caleb-love-keshad-johnson-ncaa-tournament-2024"}]}'></div></aside>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24105211/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-poll-2024-sbnation-reacts-ncaa-tournament-prediction-opinionKyle Thele2024-03-18T13:13:22-07:002024-03-18T13:13:22-07:00NCAA Tournament: What to know about Long Beach State, Arizona’s first-round opponent
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<figcaption>Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="4iPuMz">Long Beach State is in the middle of a March Madness Cinderella story unlike any college basketball has seen in modern memory. </p>
<p id="nGF1AQ">One week ago, LBSU announced its head coach <strong>Dan Monson</strong> would be dismissed at the conclusion of the season. The Beach had finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, and school administration decided it was time to move on from Monson, who has coached there for 17 years. </p>
<p id="UxbrDB">What happened next is now well-documented. The Beach went on to win the Big West Tournament, clinching the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011-12. Monson will continue to coach the program in the Big Dance. </p>
<p id="XB73AH">LBSU (21-14) finished middle-of-the-pack in the Big West, going 10-10 in league play. The Beach pulled off a pair of major upsets in non-con play, taking down USC and Michigan both on the road. </p>
<p id="8z3fhN">The No. 15 seed Beach are <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24103151/march-madness-arizona-long-beach-first-round-odds-2024-betting-lines-ncaa-basketball-draftkings">massive underdogs</a> to No. 2 seed Arizona in the NCAA Tournament opening round on Thursday, but they’ve already shown they can defy the odds. Here are some things to know about Arizona’s first round opponent. </p>
<h2 id="t0r6bp"><strong>The offense runs through Marcus Tsohonis </strong></h2>
<p id="mStUj8">LBSU senior guard <strong>Marcus Tsohonis</strong> should sound familiar to Arizona fans. </p>
<p id="374rKG">The Portland, Oregon native began his career at Washington, playing two seasons for the Huskies (2019-21). Tsohonis scored double figures in his last two games against Arizona in a Huskies uniform, including 13 in a near-upset on the Wildcats’ Senior Day in 2021. </p>
<p id="EF3soS">After a year at VCU, Tsohonis transferred to LBSU in 2022. He has been the Beach’s do-it-all guard this season, averaging 17.8 points, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals. </p>
<p id="OhZIhS">Tsohonis takes 34.4% of LBSU’s shot attempts, which is 10th-most in the country (minimum 40% of minutes to play). He averages 15.2 attempts per game and is shooting 40.5%, including 30.5% from deep. </p>
<p id="8J5S8h">Tsohonis has scored double figures in all but one game this year. His two highest scoring games came in LBSU’s upsets over Michigan (35 points) and USC (28 points). </p>
<p id="0PZ5wV">Though Tsohonis makes up an outsized amount of LBSU’s offense, the Beach have four other scorers who average double figures. Guard <strong>Jadon Jones</strong> (12.2 ppg) is LBSU’s top 3-point shooter. Big men <strong>Lassina Traore</strong> and <strong>Aboucar Traore</strong> (no relation) average 12 points, while wing<strong> AJ George</strong> averages 10.5 points. </p>
<p id="Ue7xwi">Lassina Traore is also 11th in the nation in rebounds per game (10.4). </p>
<h2 id="cJnvCJ"><strong>LBSU likes to push the ball and score inside</strong></h2>
<p id="qXk0o7">A year ago Arizona was stymied by a Princeton team that played a deliberate pace. The Wildcats’ opponent Thursday plays more into Arizona’s preferred style. </p>
<p id="V0ESji">LBSU is one of the fastest-tempo teams in the country according to <a href="http://KenPom.com">KenPom.com</a>, with an average possession length that ranks 13th nationally. LBSU scores 78 points per game and allows around the same. </p>
<p id="cYfc5R">It shouldn't be a surprise that Arizona and LBSU both like to play it push the ball and prioritize high offensive efficiency. LBSU’s Monson and Arizona coach <strong>Tommy Lloyd</strong> both originate from Gonzaga, where Monson coached from 1988-99. </p>
<p id="6y0CmX">One of the hallmarks of Monson’s offense is finding high percentage looks from 2-point range. The Beach rank in the top-20 nationally in 2-pointers taken. They rank near the very bottom of the country in 3-point attempts. </p>
<p id="OVtQsf">Expect LBSU to use a lot of penetration and interior passing. </p>
<h2 id="l5s73P"><strong>Monson and Lloyd are longtime friends </strong></h2>
<p id="GxV7tj">When Tommy Lloyd was a junior college basketball player in Washington state, he aspired to play at Gonzaga. Monson had different ideas. Monson, then a Gonzaga assistant, told Lloyd he wasn’t good enough to play for the Bulldogs but to give him a call when he wanted to get into coaching. </p>
<p id="sRddbJ">By the time Lloyd took Monson up on the offer, Monson was off to coach at Minnesota. Lloyd nevertheless joined the Gonzaga staff, working instead under <strong>Mark Few</strong>. </p>
<p id="uhH70c">“They came and looked at me (as a player), but good for them they found somebody better, so they didn’t have to take me,” Lloyd said Sunday. “That’s probably why they did so well, and that’s probably why I’m here right now, because they did so well and I was able to hitch my wagon to Gonzaga as a coach. Things work out.”</p>
<p id="3yye3e">While Monson and Lloyd never worked together, the two are good fiends. The coaches’ wives are friends and their children are in a group chat together. </p>
<p id="BXUSl5">“It’s probably about as close as you could be in this coaching business,” Lloyd said.</p>
<p id="bOzvxA">Lloyd and Monson had a gentleman’s agreement to play each other this season but Monson later backed out of the matchup, Lloyd said. </p>
<p id="QBwxEH">Lloyd hasn’t watched much of LBSU this season heading into Selection Sunday. He said he expects LBSU to run an old set from Monson’s Gonzaga days called the “crackdown,” </p>
<p id="oG1UFE">“We don’t really run that (play) much,” Lloyd said. “I think there’ll be fun things like that I’ll find out this week.”</p>
<aside id="Y02zlg"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"None of what Arizona men’s basketball has done to this point matters as much as what happens next ","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24103024/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-commentary-ncaa-tournament-pac12-oregon-long-beach-analysis-2024"}]}'></div></aside><p id="s36UGU"></p>
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https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24105097/ncaa-tournament-what-to-know-about-long-beach-state-arizona-wildcats-opponentEzra Amacher2024-03-18T06:00:00-07:002024-03-18T06:00:00-07:00None of what Arizona men’s basketball has done to this point matters as much as what happens next
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<figcaption>Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="pdsGl2">Let’s point out the obvious:</p>
<p id="Fszr4j">No matter the game or when it happens, winning is always more enjoyable than losing.</p>
<p id="0MNJYF">So through that lens Arizona’s loss to Oregon in the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/pac-12-basketball-tournament">Pac-12 Tournament</a> was disappointing. Considering the Cats had already beaten the Ducks twice this season — by healthy margins each time — for some <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/15/24102518/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-oregon-ducks-pac12-tournament-semifinals-recap-score-stats-2024">the 67-59 outcome in favor of the lower seed</a> may have come as quite a surprise. </p>
<p id="zUsadp">Oh well. </p>
<p id="UHyrBF">The loss ended Arizona’s Pac-12 Tournament run but not their season. It removed the opportunity to enter the dance on a winning streak, but not the Wildcats’ ability to finish the season on one. </p>
<p id="8sWUu0">In other words, the season is not over and for most anyone who has followed the Wildcats, the games that really matter have yet to be played.</p>
<p id="HhdL3s">This is not to say Arizona will be cutting down some nets in Glendale or anything of the sort. There are better teams around the country — five, <a href="https://kenpom.com/">according to KenPom</a> and three if you look at <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings">NET Rankings</a> — and chances are at least one of them will be in the way of of the program’s second national championship.</p>
<p id="8Xydxj">Perhaps even more important, of Arizona’s eight losses (the most in coach <strong>Tommy Lloyd’s</strong> three year,s and the team’s highest total entering the madness since 2016, when it lost in the first round) two have come in the last three games and three in the last eight. </p>
<p id="2HLei7">You cannot claim the ‘Cats are playing great basketball, that their recent defeats were of a fluky nature or that they just happened to run into some excellent opponents. No, Arizona getting steamrolled by USC and Oregon while dropping a close contest to Washington State at home leads to fair questions about if they have what it takes to win six straight games or, at least, four. </p>
<p id="X3C6C9">Nevertheless, Arizona will have every opportunity to do just that, beginning Thursday against a plucky Long Beach State squad <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104209/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-ncaa-tournament-long-beach-49ers-west-region-salt-lake-city-2024">as the No. 2 seed in the West region</a>.</p>
<p id="5rY3lU">Could be worse, right? Yes, but it wasn’t because despite what many may believe this very moment, the Wildcats are one of the best teams in the country. </p>
<p id="JkQMAI">It’s true. </p>
<p id="MnJKjR">Initial thoughts on Arizona’s corner of the bracket are that it is a pretty favorable draw. That may be so, but of course this is the same program that fell to a No. 15 seed one year ago so who are any of us to look past an opponent. </p>
<p id="qm2V81">With that said, of course, there does not appear to be a team that Arizona, on a good day, couldn’t beat en route to the Final Four. And as we’ve seen this season, on a good day Arizona can play with — and possibly beat — anyone in the country. </p>
<p id="6SajJE">That a good day avoided the Cats in Las Vegas, or for a night in Los Angeles a week before, does not lower the team’s ceiling. </p>
<p id="yR2sgp">This is still the roster that was No. 1 in the country for a time, won the final season of the Pac-12 and knocked off the likes of Duke, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Alabama. It swept NCAA Tournament foe Colorado by embarrassing margins and prior to the Pac-12 Tournament handed Oregon a pair of comfortable losses, too. </p>
<p id="pgMbmN">Conversely it is also the roster that was swept by Washington State and lost games to sub-.500 teams Stanford and Oregon State and USC.</p>
<p id="VLcCdX">So yes, Arizona has shown ability to both beat and lose to anyone. </p>
<p id="8eGjwo">Same as countless other top teams around the country, many of whom put forth sub-par performances in their respective conference tournaments. </p>
<p id="SFMBWc">Houston? Big loss. Purdue? Loss. North Carolina? Loss. Tennessee? Loss. Kentucky? Loss. Alabama? Loss. Creighton? Loss. Duke? Loss. </p>
<p id="lwuIfE">That’s but a taste of the struggles some of the country’s best teams faced over the last week, and yet they are still considered to be among the country’s best and contenders to cut down some nets. </p>
<p id="76xMLV">Even if their respective fan bases have also already given up on their teams. </p>
<p id="v8kyyq">The <a href="https://twitter.com/AZDesertSwarm">@AZDesertSwarm handle</a> had a bit of fun with this concept, making the point over and over and over and over again. At its root, the issue is likely more about the fact that college athletes can struggle with consistency and motivation, the latter of which can surely be impacted by having bigger games on the schedule than the one they are currently playing. </p>
<p id="4V6umd">With that in mind, Arizona’s loss to the Ducks is now a thing of the past. So too are the defeats at the hands of the Trojans, Cougars, Beavers, Cardinal, Florida Atlantic Owls and Purdue Boilermakers. </p>
<p id="IbxR9f">The team’s goals are still in front of them, and it appears they have a golden opportunity to achieve them. Which they will, as long as wins start piling up.</p>
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https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/18/24103024/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-commentary-ncaa-tournament-pac12-oregon-long-beach-analysis-2024Adam Green2024-03-17T20:48:27-07:002024-03-17T20:48:27-07:00Offense reawakens for Arizona baseball to avoid home sweep by ASU
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<figcaption>Arizona Athletics</figcaption>
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<p id="AQ01F8">After being limited to its fewest hits in almost nine years, <strong>Chip Hale</strong> made it seem like some changes could be coming to Arizona’s batting order. Instead, the lineup for Sunday’s finale against ASU was the same as it’s been in most games this season.</p>
<p id="92HEii">And for the first time in a week, it looked like the lineup of old.</p>
<p id="qBBfgG">The UA cranked out 20 hits and had a pair of 5-run innings in a 14-3 win over the Sun Devils at Hi Corbett, avoiding being swept at home by its rival for the first time since 1998.</p>
<p id="qwgJcr">“These are our guys,” Hale said of his offense, which got at least one hit from every starter while six had at least two hits. “We’re still a work in progress, but that’s a good thing for us. It’s a completely different team than last year.” </p>
<p id="WU7G4U"><strong>Easton Breyfogle </strong>and <strong>Maddox Mihalakis </strong>had four hits apiece, while <strong>Garen Caulfield </strong>and <strong>Richie Morales</strong> each drove in three. <strong>Emilio Corona</strong> hit his fifth home run of the season, a 461-foot solo shot in the bottom of the second that ended an 11-inning scoreless drought for Arizona (8-10, 3-3 Pac-12).</p>
<p id="d2zaeu">The Wildcats were shut out 4-0 on Saturday, getting just one hit, and during their 4-game losing streak had managed just five runs and 13 hits. They scored five times in the second on Sunday.</p>
<p id="ZHlMTz">“It’s only a stretch, it’s not who we are,” said Mihalakis, a sophomore who is hitting .333 and appears to have won the DH competition. “It’s not our identity as an offense and not our identity as a team. We hit, we have good hitters, and we’ve just done what we can do, be consistent, come in every day, do the same thing, get our work done, and understand that when it happens, it’s gonna happen. Going through slumps is tough, but we’ve done our best to kind of get back on the horse and do our job to keep putting up good ads and good games. We’re just gonna keep going from here.”</p>
<p id="czFevi">Morales, a transfer from State College of Florida, is also hitting .333 and doing it out of the 9 hole. His bat and a .446 on-base percentage (second-best on the team) has kept him in the lineup despite struggling defensively at third base, a new position for him. He was out of the lineup Saturday after making a critical error in Friday’s 3-2 loss, but after being able to “watch baseball” for a game he was back to his regular hitting ways.</p>
<p id="ZY33dn">“I’ve always hit leadoff, so it’s not too different,” Morales said. “I’m just flipping the lineup. I think I just take my approach as a leadoff.”</p>
<p id="6iBxFD">While it was good to see the bats return, even more promising for Arizona was 6.1 innings of shutout relief from the bullpen. Starter <strong>Cam Walty</strong> ran into trouble in the third, giving up three runs and throwing 76 pitches in 2.2 innings.</p>
<p id="mfhUc6"><strong>Dawson Netz</strong> finished the third, then <strong>Casey Hintz</strong> and <strong>Trevor Long</strong> followed with 1.2 innings each and Long got the victory. Three more relievers—<strong>Jaeden Swanberg, Eric Orloff </strong>and <strong>Raul Garayzar</strong>—then finished it off by allowing just three baserunners over the final 2.1 innings. </p>
<p id="r7xx4N">Arizona returns to action Tuesday night at home against Grand Canyon before heading to Oregon for a 3-game series next weekend. At 3-3, the Wildcats are only a game out of first in the Pac-12 and through two weekends there has been only one sweep while the road team has won seven of 10 series.</p>
<p id="Lwn9Ld">All fans will see is a series loss to the Sun Devils for the second year in a row. </p>
<p id="tSkAMc">“I don’t blame them,” Hale said. “I’m a fan, too, and it bothers me that we lose games and that we lose to ASU two out of three. All we can do here is move on to the next day and have the best day we can.”</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-baseball/2024/3/17/24104531/arizona-wildcats-baseball-asu-sun-devils-recap-final-score-series-finale-2024-pac12-hicorbettBrian J. Pedersen2024-03-17T20:30:00-07:002024-03-17T20:30:00-07:00NCAA Tournament: What Adia Barnes said about Arizona women’s basketball’s selection
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<img alt="NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament - Player Portraits" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/x6W5AWadEUdfNCHWeGaiLzsiB1I=/0x258:2263x1767/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214367/1310397863.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="Hsxx5s">The Arizona Wildcats will play in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, making it their fourth appearance in a row. They will face Auburn in Storrs, Conn. for the right to face sixth-seeded Syracuse. The winner of the game against Syracuse will advance to face either No. 3 Connecticut or No. 14 Jackson State.</p>
<p id="PBXFcj">Barnes spoke to the media after the announcement. She was relieved, excited, and a bit disappointed in the seeding for her team compared to those from easier leagues and combative towards her critics.</p>
<p id="vBXPWX">Here’s what Barnes had to say.</p>
<h3 id="mItDzU"><strong>On her initial feelings about the selection</strong></h3>
<p id="74EQHZ">“I’m so excited. I’m so excited for this team. I’m so excited for Arizona. If you were to ask me if we’d be in such a situation a month ago, I would have said, Oh, a little tough. So I’m just happy that we’ve worked so hard to put ourselves in a situation to be in the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row. So very, very happy and blessed.”</p>
<h3 id="0vfWA4"><strong>On why the NCAA Tournament is a better option than the WBIT even for a young team</strong></h3>
<p id="9umSLz">“I think that as...you’ve built a program, you want to sustain success. So you want a program where every year you’re in the NCAA tournament...I think there’s so much value to playing in the postseason, whether it’s NIT, whatever, but for us just to have the chance to be three freshmen starting, seven players, and going to the NCAA tournament, I think it’s just an amazing experience for our young players, and they’re the foundation for the future. So I’m excited. I think that we’re good enough to beat a lot of these tournament teams, and we have a very favorable bracket. So I think that it’s a perfect situation for us.”</p>
<h3 id="P3bPqY"><strong>On whether she was nervous about them getting in</strong></h3>
<p id="YaMLC2">“I was pretty confident that we would get in, and I honestly thought maybe as a 10-seed because I thought just our strength of schedule. When I ran all the analytics for the last eight teams we were talking about, I thought our numbers were significantly better. But there’s a lot that goes into that, so I started getting nervous, like halfway through because I was like okay, we’re halfway. We have two more regions left and I was a little bit nervous because I knew that we were going to be that 10th, 11th seed, and so there was only a couple of opportunities for that. So I got nervous a little bit in the beginning, but I just still was confident...I thought we played ourselves into a good situation this year because of the end of the season.”</p>
<h3 id="IEEl8Z"><strong>On Arizona getting into its fourth straight tournament after the criticism around the program this year</strong></h3>
<p id="94A0Lg">“When there’s so many critics and I’m thinking, when I took over this program, it was a miracle to be in the tournament. And then it’s like we win the NIT, then we go to a national championship. Sometimes I read stuff and people are super critical. I’m like, You guys must not remember 8 or 10 years ago when Arizona was like 300 RPI. So sometimes I get kind of mad about that. And I’m like, okay, when I came here, there’s 300 fans, now there’s 7,000. Like, be quiet. But I kind of take offense to that because there’s very few places in the country or very few programs that you’re gonna be like a Stanford every year. You’re there. That is like one in a million. I mean, there’s the UConns, the Stanfords, and that’s shifting now because basketball changes, more parity. So it says a lot. I’ve been here eight years. It was my first coaching job. We’ve completely transformed the program.”</p>
<h3 id="FcwjYD"><strong>On how the coaching staff has been preparing for possible matchups</strong></h3>
<p id="c7th6k">“I broke down 12 teams. Got all the personnel and I broke it up between all the coaches. So, everybody had four teams to watch. I watched the teams I thought we would be most likely to play. Vanderbilt was in there and Texas A&M, so we’ll face one of those teams... So now obviously we’re gonna go meet in the office, and we’re gonna start on the next couple games, and I’ll start on Auburn. But I think it’s exciting. I think this is a good situation for us. I think these games are winnable. I think it’s the postseason, so it’s only one. You’re not asking for a series. You need one game. So I’m excited. I think it’s a great opportunity. I think we couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”</p>
<h3 id="NpX5uo"><strong>On whether she’s disappointed in being in the First Four</strong></h3>
<p id="ysSp1x">“There is no play-in. There’s 68 teams...When I sit back and look at who we have, what we did...then I really reset myself and I say this is pretty amazing whether it’s team 67, 68, it really doesn’t matter. It’s an opportunity to play in the postseason with this group, to get tremendous experience, and teams that we can beat. So I think that I look at that and I’m more optimistic and more happy about it. So yeah, I don’t think it really matters. I think that we’re playing. I mean, we could have been some other teams that don’t get called and that could have happened.”</p>
<h3 id="3D2qAW">On whether she will schedule tough in the future after this experience</h3>
<p id="4tYADH">“I’ve also learned some other things and this is what I think is always contradictory because everybody always says you want to have this hard strength of schedule. Okay, I just scheduled before we had transfers and stuff. So, I really scheduled too hard for what we had. I did that, but I couldn’t control some of those things. So we played really good teams. So number one going into the Pac-12, strength of schedule. It changed when obviously UCLA and USC played. It shifted UCLA to number one, us to number two strength of schedule. So when I look at all of our comparables, all the teams that were like those last 11, 12, our numbers were significantly better. Like, not even a comparison. So that just tells me that I can schedule way easier because they were playing from 150 to 230 NET rating teams...I can schedule way easier, and we would have won four more games. This even wouldn’t be a question. We’d probably be a nine seed. So it’s like, that’s kind of hard, because now I’m just gonna schedule easier. So that’s kind of the unfortunate part because I thought...whether we’re only 9-11 in the Pac or two games above 500, we had one of the hardest schedules in the country. And so now we played all those teams, so I thought that would hold more value. And when I looked at us and Texas A&M, there was no comparison. I don’t know how they were seeded higher.”</p>
<p id="J7jZOU"></p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104497/ncaa-tournament-what-adia-barnes-said-about-arizona-womens-basketballs-selectionK Doss2024-03-17T19:00:00-07:002024-03-17T19:00:00-07:002024 March Madness: Opening odds for Arizona vs. Long Beach State first round matchup
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<img alt="Oregon v Arizona" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vNsoJBA4CDCv7oBsl86PWI9lJR4=/0x0:4257x2838/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214282/2089746914.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by David Becker/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Tip time, TV info included </p> <p id="c9vr8M">Arizona men’s basketball is a year removed from being on the wrong end of a No. 15 seed over No. 2 seed upset. Oddsmakers seem confident it won’t happen again. </p>
<p id="BYhzOJ">The Wildcats,<a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104209/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-ncaa-tournament-long-beach-49ers-west-region-salt-lake-city-2024"> the No. 2 seed in the West Region</a>, have opened as a 20.5-point favorite over No. 15 seed Long Beach State, <a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/basketball/ncaab?referrer=singular_click_id%3d9b9ce4c0-adb3-4227-9d91-dda8bea755ad&wpcid=166791&wpcn=Inartcile&wpcrid=CBB&wpsrc=Vox">according to DraftKings Sportsbook</a>. Arizona has -6500 odds to win straight up. </p>
<p id="PwcmgR">Arizona and Long Beach State will tip off at 11 a.m. PT on Thursday at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center. The game will be televised on TBS. </p>
<p id="e30HmW">If the Wildcats were to advance, they would play the winner of No. 7 Dayton and No. 10 Nevada in the Round of 32. </p>
<p id="Qd6lq1">The spread of Arizona-Long Beach is the third-largest of the Round of 64 games. The spread is also six points higher than a year ago when Arizona was a 14.5 point-favorite against Princeton. </p>
<p id="mim84M">The team that Arizona will face Thursday has beat long odds just to get this far. The 49ers (21-14) won the Big West tournament as the No. 4 seed to earn an auto bid to the Big Dance. </p>
<p id="kChDN1">Arizona (25-8) has a 96% chance to win the matchup according to KenPom.com, which projects a 91-71 Wildcats win. </p>
<p id="vIUDl3"><em>Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See </em><a href="http://draftkings.com/sportsbook"><em>draftkings.com/sportsbook</em></a><em> for details.</em></p>
<aside id="xhmw09"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"What Tommy Lloyd said about Arizona’s NCAA Tournament seed, facing Long Beach State","url":"https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104435/arizona-wildcats-tommy-lloyd-long-beach-dan-monson-caleb-love-keshad-johnson-ncaa-tournament-2024"}]}'></div></aside>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24103151/march-madness-arizona-long-beach-first-round-odds-2024-betting-lines-ncaa-basketball-draftkingsEzra Amacher2024-03-17T18:06:50-07:002024-03-17T18:06:50-07:00What Tommy Lloyd said about Arizona’s NCAA Tournament seed, facing Long Beach State
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<img alt="arizona-wildcats-tommy-lloyd-long-beach-dan-monson-caleb-love-keshad-johnson-ncaa-tournament-2024" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/to_KTLNTVg1szQ62BrR1-c2WJFE=/0x0:7007x4671/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214213/2089730243.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by David Becker/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="Fmy3yC">In the end, the loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 tourney semifinals didn’t matter: Arizona is headed to Salt Lake City as the No. 2 seed in the West Region of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, as was expected all week.</p>
<p id="1zfSYL">The Wildcats (25-8) will<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104209/arizona-wildcats-mens-basketball-ncaa-tournament-long-beach-49ers-west-region-salt-lake-city-2024"><strong>open against No. 15 seed Long Beach State at 11 a.m. PT Thursday</strong></a>, with TBS airing the contest. </p>
<p id="trhadb">Long Beach (21-14) won the Big West Tournament title on Saturday night after its coach, <strong>Dan Monson</strong>, learned at the beginning of the week he was not going to return next season after 17 years at the school. He’s also got a connection to Arizona’s <strong>Tommy Lloyd</strong>, having offered Lloyd a graduate assistant position at Gonzaga in the 1990s.</p>
<p id="0ocB33">“Muns and I go back a long way, but we’re both professionals, so we’re both going to prepare our teams the best we can this week,” Lloyd said Sunday afternoon at Union Public House where the UA held its Selection Show watch party. “We’re excited. No matter who you play in the NCAA Tournament, it’s gonna be a team, they’re very deserving.”</p>
<p id="mE9tW8">Here’s what else Lloyd said about Long Beach, his relationship with Munson and Gonzaga and his team heading into his third straight NCAA Tournament: </p>
<p id="LoUtfA"><strong>On how he feels about Arizona despite losing 2 of 3: </strong>“I feel good. Hey, at the end of the year you’re gonna play hard games. And you’re gonna win some, you’re gonna lose some. We’ve been fortunate to win some of those games and then you get in the tournament and you lose one. We’re playing the hand we’re dealt, I think we’re well-rested. I know we’re definitely healthier than we were last year. I think we’re ready to be in attack mode. We’re ready to have a good week of preparation and go out and play a good Long Beach State and let it happen.”</p>
<p id="krwPyM"><strong>On what he’s told players who have been struggling of late: </strong>“Hey, it’s tournament time. We trust them. We believe in them. There’s no pressure on them. They don’t need to do anything other than what they’ve done consistently for the most part all season.That’s how games go. That’s how seasons go. You lose games, and usually when he was games, some guys don’t play well. We just got to get them back on track, but it’s nothing that I’m really stressed out or losing sleep about.”</p>
<p id="FfhwMR"><strong>On the inevitable questions this week about the Princeton loss from 2023: </strong>“Last year was last year. I mean, we’ve never denied it. We’ve owned it. It’s part of our history, part of our legacy. And when you’re in a program like Arizona, you’re gonna have great successes and you’re also going to have some things that look like monumental failures. It’s just how it goes. We’ve never avoided it all year. We talk about it, we openly acknowledging our program, we’re not embarrassed about it. We’re looking forward to another opportunity this year, and this team’s journey is different than last year’s journey. We’re excited to get out there and play Thursday.”</p>
<p id="1HVTjr"><strong>On the advantage of having extra time between Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments: </strong>“It’s a lot. I mean, I think it’s a lot. Listen, I’m being honest with you, I’m so much more well rested right now standing here than I was the last two years. The last two years you’re coming here on adrenaline and fumes and then you just try to rally back your energy. And I know other teams do it, but it’s just not easy for anybody. So to be able to have a full day to recover, yesterday, and then a day to relax today and then kind of figure out where we’ll going, and we’ll build it as a normal week starting tomorrow.”</p>
<p id="HAuPAa"><strong>On his message to his players making their first NCAA appearance: </strong>“Enjoy it, and let it rip, and then know that you’re playing in a meaningful event that kind of captivates a nation. And bring your swag, bring your energy and throw haymakers, I mean, that’s how we’re gonna come out.”</p>
<p id="pHEtgD"><strong>On how much focus is on the opponent this week: </strong>“I think at the end of the day, always this time of year, the first thing you got to do is you got to do what you do well. It’s gonna be a short prep on a team you haven’t played, they haven’t played you. You got do the things you do well, and focus on that this week, because that’s the number one thing. You’re not going to drastically change what you do.”</p>
<p id="EBwNtz"><strong>On Arizona having a potentially good path to the Final Four in Phoenix: </strong>“That’s great for you guys. You guys get to analyze that. I don’t. I’m gonna be honest with you, I didn’t even know the other half of the Pac-12 bracket this week. I knew who we would play next. I keep it that simple. But that’s, that’s a better space for me to be in as a coach for my program.”</p>
<p id="mi7eaK"><strong>On players avoiding outside noise: </strong>“We talk to them about it. It’s hard. There’s a lot of outside noise. But if they’re more attracted and captivated by the outside noise, maybe we’re not doing a good enough job internally in our program on bringing things back home. We’re a program that takes a ton of pride and our culture. And we know we’re not perfect, but we work on it on a daily basis, and there’s not a perfect culture in the world. But I know ours is healthy and strong. And so I think our guys will be locked in.”</p>
<p id="t5QPz2"><strong>On having 2 players (Keshad Johnson, Caleb Love) who have made Final Fours: </strong>“I guess it’s nice to have guys that have been there, done that. There’s some comfort in that, but at the end of the day, been there done that doesn’t guarantee anything. You got to come out Thursday, it’s a 1-game season. And you got to play well to earn the right to get the second game.”</p>
<p id="eyyiD8"><strong>On what that experience can mean for the rest of the team: </strong>“I think it means a lot I think they can send a great message to your team, what it takes in this tournament. What their teams went through. Every tournament run, even if you do make a deep run, it’s not without some struggle and some adversity and how you stay the course to overcome that. I mean, I think it’ll be something that will be a great asset to us.”</p>
<p id="pgy8Ug"><strong>On how much work Arizona can actually do this week: </strong>“We’ll definitely look at some stuff this week, but nothing crazy. I’m sure a lot of it’s cleaning up things we normally do and just kind of re-centering ourselves on what our values are and our identity. And then you look at your opponent and figure out the best way you need to attack them. That’ll be our focus this week. It won’t be anything anything drastic.”</p>
<p id="fQ7jJc"><strong>On if he’s concerned about Love: </strong>“He just didn’t play well. I mean, he’s had a great season, he just didn’t play well the last couple of games, we can’t overthink it. We don’t need to make a mountain out of a molehill. He’s a great basketball player. He just needs to get out there and play well on Thursday.”</p>
<p id="sCo7fK"><strong>On fans hoping Arizona got the bad performances out of the way: </strong>“Fans justify things a lot of ways. And that’s what’s cool about being a fan is you get an opinion and you get a voice with your friends. But I mean, those things don’t really penetrate us. We would have loved to play better and we would have loved to win the Pac-12 Tournament, but we didn’t, so we got to play the hand were dealt. And the hand we’re dealt now is getting rested and re-energized and heading up to Salt Lake to play Long Beach. We were not overthinking it anything more than that.”</p>
<p id="jhcokW"><strong>On if this team is better built for a deep NCAA run than 2022/2023: </strong>“I really like this team. This team’s capable of winning games in March, and that’s the ultimate goal when you put it together is to be able to win games in March. I feel like we’re capable of that. But me feeling we’re capable doesn’t guarantee anything. Now you got to go out and do it. I definitely feel like we’re healthier this year than maybe we have been the past couple of years, especially last year. I’ve taken that as a positive.”</p>
<p id="W4hzK1"><strong>On how Munson brought him to Gonzaga: </strong>“He recruited me a little bit when I played at Walla Wally Community College, but I wasn’t good enough. And he gave me the standard line—he was an assistant, and he said, if you ever want to get into coaching, give me a call. So when I got done playing I gave him a call. He gave me my first chance, but I went over to Europe, in Germany to play one more year. And while I was gone they had that first national run at Gonzaga to the Elite Eight, he took the Minnesota job and I kind of got passed on to Mark Few.”</p>
<p id="Ccq34l"><strong>On Gonzaga recruiting him but not offering him a scholarship: </strong>“Back in that time Gonzaga was still recruiting JUCO players, and I had a good year. They came and looked at me, but good for them they found somebody better, so they didn’t have to take me. That’s probably why they did so well, and that’s probably why I’m here right now, because they did so well and I was able to hitch my wagon to Gonzaga as a coach. Things work out.”</p>
<p id="uPOHu6"><strong>On if he credits Munson for getting his career starter: </strong>“Let’s not give Muns too much credit. I mean, he probably said that to a lot of people. It was an easy way to let a kid off the hook because he wasn’t going to offer him a scholarship. I’m just joking. He’s a great family friend, and he’s a really good man. And he’s one of the funnest people that I know. I’m proud to be part of that coaching tree and and he’s obviously at the very top of it.”</p>
<p id="3AwFHd"><strong>On Munson leading his team to the NCAA tourney despite having been fired: </strong>“Muns is a great leader,and so I think he has an ability to rally his troops, and I’m sure they’re playing spirited basketball right now. It’s not the first time his team has made noise in the postseason or a conference tournament. That’s what good coaches do. And we’re we’re gonna play against a very good coach who’s got a lot of experience and in a program that’s used to winning games.”</p>
<p id="iWZ82B"><strong>On his relationship with Munson: </strong>“I never worked with him, but I’ve been with him enough. And obviously there’s enough crossover there. Our families are friends, our wives are friends. Our kids are on group chats together. It’s probably about as close as you could be in this coaching business.”</p>
<p id="ykhp3k"><strong>On if Munson is responsible for Gonzaga’s rise in college basketball: </strong>“He’s a big part of it. I mean, I think you gotta go back to Dan Fitzgerald. He was the original, and Dan Fitzgerald ... when he was the head coach there, Dan, (Mark Few) and Billy Grier were his assistants. And then Fitzy retires, Muns takes over. I think his second year they have the run, and then Mark becomes the head coach. He’s at the center of everything, sure. He’s a central figure, if not the central figure in the whole thing.”</p>
<p id="wbCQHl"><strong>On how familiar he is with Munson’s coaching style: </strong>“We never coached together, and we’ve been on different paths in different programs for 25 years. I’m sure he’ll run his classic play, crackdown, an old Gonzaga staple from back in the day that I think he still runs. We don’t really run that much. I think there’ll be fun things like that I’ll find out this week. To be honest with you,I haven’t watched his team play that much. You’re pretty focused on your team and your upcoming opponent. So I’m going to actually probably enjoy sitting down and watching his team play the next few days.”</p>
<p id="LWLslS"><strong>On the prospect of him ending Munson’s tenure at Long Beach: </strong>“I got a job, and my job is to lead the Arizona basketball program. And so that’s where 100% of my effort energy is. He has a job. He still has a job, even though he doesn’t maybe going forward there, but he’s gonna coach again somewhere. I’m sure they’re gonna use it as a rallying point for their program to see if they can play one more.”</p>
<p id="juWkHo"><strong>On the difficulty of the Long Beach job: </strong>“He’s also had a lot of success there. Maybe it’s a hard place to win consistently every year, but he’s done an admirable job. 17 years at a place like Long Beach State, that says something about your staying power.”</p>
<p id="nuKZN2"><strong>On agreeing to play Long Beach this year only to have the game canceled: </strong>“The only complaint I have about Muns is, we shouldn’t be playing this game. Because he and I had agreed this year to play a guarantee game. We had agreed. I was down in Mexico, I remember exactly where I was at when we agreed. And then I get back, and a couple weeks later, I check in with TJ (Benson) and I’m like hey, did you get that deal done with Muns, that contract. In the meantime, (Long Beach) found someone else.We were supposed to play this year. And without Muns telling me, he cancelled it, took someone else. Had we played we wouldn’t have played, we wouldn’t have matched up against him. So this is Muns’ fault.”</p>
<p id="HfiDC3"><strong>On avoiding Gonzaga in the bottom half of the West Region: </strong>“I was literally worried that it was going to be, on the 7-10 line it was going to be them and Boise State, which is Mark Few and Leon Rice. Obviously, we were all together at Gonzaga at the same time. I was just hoping that wouldn’t happen, so thank goodness that didn’t happen.”</p>
<p id="cWt5OM"><strong>On why he doesn’t want to play Gonzaga or other teams coached by people he worked with there: </strong>“I don’t think you guys understand how close we are. I mean, we’re a family. And that doesn’t mean we’re not professionals or not on our own paths. But we’re literally a family. And it’s a very unique situation. I mean, our kids are more like cousins than friends. Our wives are best friends, us coaches have been in the battle together. We’re great friends. So, I mean, I think the relationships run that deep. You guys obviously don’t see it publicly, because we’re not doing it publicly It’s all privately.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104435/arizona-wildcats-tommy-lloyd-long-beach-dan-monson-caleb-love-keshad-johnson-ncaa-tournament-2024Brian J. Pedersen2024-03-17T17:45:00-07:002024-03-17T17:45:00-07:00NCAA Tournament: Arizona women’s basketball to face Auburn in First Four
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<img alt="NCAA Women’s Basketball: Pac-12 Media Day" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1PfXosHxSiyQK_YNasndhIRh9dY=/0x0:8001x5334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214165/usa_today_21619886.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="BnMOfb">Arizona head coach Adia Barnes has been making the case for her team to be included in the NCAA Tournament for weeks now. Her arguments focused on the strength of the Pac-12, her team’s near-.500 record in the league, and the fact that they got better as the year progressed while starting three freshmen. </p>
<p id="TsHFum">The committee agreed, putting the Wildcats (17-15, 8-10 Pac-12) into the First Four to play Auburn (20-11, 8-8 SEC) for the right to face sixth-seeded Syracuse.</p>
<p id="jgNSiX">The Wildcats are going for a No. 11 seed. It’s the lowest seed they’ve had in the past several years, but the bigger point is that they have made the tournament four straight years and would have five straight if the 2020 postseason had not been canceled due to the pandemic.</p>
<p id="I3rv9k">Arizona will travel to Storrs, Conn. to play on either Mar. 20 or Mar. 21. The winner of the game against Syracuse advances to play either No. 3 Connecticut or No. 14 Jackson State on UConn’s home court.</p>
<p id="VN4ITg">The other at-large matchup is between teams going for a 12 seed, so thoughts that Arizona would be the last team in were not quite accurate.</p>
<p id="zVm5RL">Barnes will speak to the media about the postseason later this evening.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2024/3/17/24104413/ncaa-tournament-arizona-womens-basketball-to-face-auburn-in-first-four-syracuse-connecticutK Doss