Tommy Lloyd spent 22 years as Mark Few's right-hand man turning Gonzaga into a national powerhouse.
He needed just one season to return Arizona to prominence.
Lloyd was named The Associated Press men's college basketball coach of the year on Friday after leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in his first season.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor standout freshman Kendall Brown and point guard James Akinjo both announced Wednesday they are entering their names into the NBA draft.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Taze Moore was a player Houston coach Kelvin Sampson didn't even know. Jamal Shead was too young and inexperienced to be expected to make such an impact.
Now they are part of a completely revamped starting lineup that is trying to get the Cougars (32-5) into consecutive Final Fours for the first time since 1982-84 in the Phi Slama Jama era, long before any of the current players were born.
Duke keeps winning games in the NCAA Tournament and Mike Krzyzewski keeps telling anyone who will listen, “It’s not the coaching.”
There’s some evidence to suggest he’s right.
For one thing, Duke relies almost entirely on freshmen and sophomores, which means his core group of players have only had so much time to soak up Coach K's decades of gathered wisdom.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Houston coach Kelvin Sampson gritted his teeth and raised his arms before emphatically pounding his right fist into his left hand 11 times while celebrating with ecstatic Cougars fans who were not too far from home.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — JD Notae scored 21 points despite missing 20 shots and fourth-seeded Arkansas made Gonzaga miserable on both ends of the floor, bouncing the top overall seed from the NCAA Tournament with a 74-68 win on Thursday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Villanova Wildcats have made quite a second home for themselves in the Alamo City, where they won a national championship in 2018 and are carving a path toward another.
Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points, Collin Gillespie scored 12 and made a key 3-pointer late, and Villanova controlled Michigan in a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels and Villanova are back in the city of the Alamo for the first time since winning the national championship there four years ago. Even the opponent is the same, though in a different arena for this somewhat unexpected Sweet 16 matchup against Michigan.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin said Wednesday that he has attempted to apologize to a TCU dance team member after a video widely circulated on social media showed the Pac-12 player of the year possibly making contact with her after the Wildcats' second-round victory.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa is colorful, a bit wild and more than a handful.
Not just for opponents, but sometimes for the top-seeded Wildcats, too.
The Estonian sophomore is the cocky and feisty sort who can drive opponents crazy, taunt their fans and question game officials.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Christian Koloko saw the play develop from across the lane, slid into position and blocked the shot with one hand.
Seconds later, after an offensive rebound, another TCU player had the audacity to challenge Arizona's 7-foot shot swatter.
A No. 1 seed and two No. 2s did not get past the first weekend. A band of Peacocks from Jersey City took down a blue blood to reach the Sweet 16.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin has come through plenty in clutch situations for Arizona. It's no surprise he made his biggest plays of the season when the Wildcats needed him the most.
The sophomore shooting guard made a 3-pointer to force overtime and then scored six more points in the extra session as the top-seeded Arizona outlasted ninth-seeded TCU 85-80 on Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke survived a tense finish against Michigan State and extended Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament run, beating Tom Izzo’s Spartans 85-76 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame coaches’ bittersweet last tussle.
Top seeds Gonzaga, Kansas and Arizona are in. So is little Saint Peter’s, the giant killer and only the third No. 15 seed to make it this far in the NCAA Tournament.
And Coach K's farewell tour continues as he and his Duke Blue Devils made it to the Sweet 16, too.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Former Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller returned to Xavier on Saturday, less than a year after the Wildcats fired him amid an ongoing NCAA investigation that's stretched nearly five years.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dalen Terry has been a defensive standout for Arizona all season, but he has stepped up on the offensive end the past couple of games.
Terry has set career highs in scoring the past two games, including 16 points in Friday night's 87-70 victory over Wright State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke began retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61 on Friday night.
Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (29-6), who jumped to a double-digit lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes and remained in control throughout.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Christian Koloko scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and keyed a second-half surge for top-seeded Arizona, which beat No. 16 Wright State 87-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The packaging is still there. On the surface anyway. Don't be fooled. The whole “Cinderella” thing surrounding Loyola Chicago no longer applies.
Yes, the enduring symbol for the Jesuit school located hard against Lake Michigan in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood remains Sister Jean, the centenarian nun and team chaplain who became a folk hero during the school's stunning run to the Final Four in 2018.
March Madness is about to get its roar back.
A year after attendance was limited, the 2022 NCAA tournaments are a full-go for fans again. Arenas will be packed from San Diego to Buffalo, the road to a title paved with the sounds we've come to expect with all those buzzer beaters and breakout performances.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Tommy Lloyd has an unpretentious manner forged during formational years in rural southern Washington, professional years in Spokane.
Thoughts, words and decisions are measured, the emotional tides of more mercurial coaches a waste of energy to him.
Last season's NCAA Tournament ultimately unfolded in familiar fashion.
Upsets early — hi, Oral Roberts! — before the powerhouses eventually took over.
By the time the championship game rolled around, undefeated Gonzaga and twice-beaten Baylor — two No.
The latest on the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement:
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North Carolina turned to Hubert Davis to replace retired Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams. Now Davis has the the Tar Heels exactly where they ended Williams’ final season.
Tommy Lloyd has quickly returned Arizona to national prominence after a tumultuous stretch that included NCAA charges tied to a federal corruption investigation into college basketball, the firing of its men's coach and no postseason play.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona clanged shots, threw weak passes, watched UCLA build what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. Then the Wildcats found a gear few teams have — maybe no other team has.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hunter Cattoor scored a career-high 31 points and seventh-seeded Virginia Tech won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the first time, beating Duke 82-67 on Saturday night to deny Mike Krzyzewski a league title in his final season.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tyrece Radford scored 19 points and Quenton Jackson made five throws in the final minute Friday as Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Auburn 67-62 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, a loss that could wind up costing the Tigers a No.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kerr Kriisa handed his crutch to a teammate and grabbed the red Arizona sticker. The Wildcats' point guard lifted it in the air, let out a shout and placed it on the championship slot of the Pac-12 Tournament bracket inside T-Mobile Arizona.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Christian Koloko scored 24 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 20 and No. 2 Arizona held off Stanford 84-80 on Thursday in the Pac-12 quarterfinals.
The top-seeded Wildcats (29-3) had a hard time shaking the Cardinal in a win late in the regular season and faced a similar issue to open the tournament.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona spent much of the season winning lopsided games with one of the nation's best offenses.
The Wildcats faced a rare opposing offensive onslaught to open the Pac-12 Tournament by a hot-shooting Stanford team and a forward who couldn't seem to miss.
Bennedict Mathurin flashed his athleticism in short bursts as a freshman last season, content to play a supporting role on a team filled with veteran players.
Needed to fill a bigger role as a sophomore, Arizona's bouncy guard proved to be one of the nation's best players.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tommy Lloyd sat at a postgame news conference looking at the Pac-12 regular-season trophy. The Arizona coach never expected to win it in his first season.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina spoiled the emotional home finale of retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, beating fourth-ranked rival Duke 94-81 on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The day that was all about the coach who has 1,196 career victories and five NCAA championships abruptly turned into a season-defining performance for the Tar Heels, who played fearlessly in an extra rowdy arena and shot 59% after halftime.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was asked earlier this week whether his team would cut down the nets for winning the Pac-12 regular-season championship after Saturday's game against California.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona had to rebound from the mental rush of winning the Pac-12 regular-season title against Southern California two nights earlier. The physical toll of long travel delays was an even tougher challenge, causing a sluggish start against a hungry opponent.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A return to regular-season Pac-12 Conference glory for No. 2 Arizona was not an occasion for wild celebrations, loud roars or proud proclamations.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freshman guard Trevor Keels scored a career-high 27 points, Paolo Banchero added 21 and No. 4 Duke clinched at least a share of its 13th Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title under coach Mike Krzyzewski with an 86-56 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
An unprecedented day of chaos led to changes nearly everywhere in the AP Top 25, except the top two spots.
It also tightened up major conference races across the country.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the first-place team in every undecided league except the Pac-12 has a lead of one game or less.