Tommy Lloyd's unbeaten Arizona team is playing so well even he's having a hard time believing it right now. As he has done a few times previously this season, Lloyd entered the press conference room at McKale Center Wednesday night and said, "I didn't expect that."
What he was referencing was his team's 94-65 beatdown of previously undefeated Wyoming. The Wildcats are the real deal, and Wednesday night's win is just the latest example of Lloyd's program being ahead of schedule.
The Cowboys' 8-0 record entering their matchup with UA was no fluke. Wyoming has played well this season, but if you only watched its game against Arizona you would think it was exactly the team that was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West Conference this year.
For all but a few short spurts, Arizona had the Cowboys on their heels with a barrage of baskets that came in waves throughout the night. It was difficult to pick out anything the Wildcats didn't do well for most of the game.
"We talk about going one for one," he said Wednesday night. "You get one opportunity to do something, and you don't want to go 0 for one. And these guys are going one for one. Whether that's possession by possession, assignment by assignment or game by game. So I'm incredibly proud of them."
Entering its upcoming road matchup against Illinois, Arizona looks like a team right now that is ready to make a deep run in March. Though Wednesday's game felt familiar, with UA hanging 94 points on the Cowboys, it also felt different at the same time and like the Wildcats had reached a different level as a team. The reality of the type of team Lloyd has on his hands seems to be starting to set in for the UA head coach.
His focus has remained on the small not the big. Lloyd's approach of zeroing in on each possession and each game has helped his team play with a sense of freedom allowing the Wildcats to have quite a bit of success through the first month of the season.
"I tell our guy, let's not be rigid," he said. "... What's gonna win us the next ballgame? That's where we start. It could be an offense thing first, could be a defense things first, could be special teams first, could be traps. I don't have a regimented deal. I'm much more of a blank-canvas type of guy and and then let's put our heads together.
"I think when you have a real regimented routine, I think it kind of wears on the guys and bores them a little bit over time. So I like to keep changing it up on them and keep them on their toes a little bit."
The Wildcats have certainly generated plenty of buzz over the first month of the season, but so far it has felt like Arizona is thought of as the little team that could. That perception is changing, and it will soon be time to think of Arizona as the type of team that will have a chance to reach the final stages of the NCAA Tournament.
There are still very important tests for the Wildcats on the horizon, starting with Saturday's road matchup against the Illini, but UA is turning another corner under Lloyd. The Arizona head coach has stressed the importance of keeping level headed despite the success that will come his team's way.
His message certainly sounds like it is being received by the group.
"We know we have a big game on the way," said star guard Benn Mathurin after leading the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's win. "Preparation starts right now, and we just came out of the game. We just take the mistakes and make them better and adjust to win the game on Saturday."
The Wildcats' matchup with Illinois in Champaign is set for a 3 p.m. MST tipoff Saturday.
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