Unlike previous years, Arizona men’s basketball is opening its preseason against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team in Saint Mary’s on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST at McKale Center.
Coach Tommy Lloyd said Thursday that he is looking forward to the challenge that the perennial West Coast Conference power poses to his team, which is littered with talented freshman. However, he also wishes that the exhibition could be followed up by facing a national team.
“I thought we were going to play Saint Mary’s and I thought we were going to play the Mexican senior national team,” Lloyd told reporters. “We had basically come to an agreement with the Mexican coaching staff that that’s what we were going to do, but unfortunately the NCAA didn’t allow it. We applied for a waiver and it didn’t get approved.
“But I think that would be something pretty cool for these programs, especially now with FIBA basketball. … Fingers crossed, hopefully that’s something in the future that can happen.”
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With many national teams attempting to qualify for their regional or world championship between November and January, Lloyd said striking this preseason deal would be mutually beneficial for everyone involved.
Back to the present time, Lloyd’s Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 for the 2025-26 season on Thursday after landing at No. 15 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll on Monday. Neither ranking is of any interest to the fifth-year coach at Arizona.
“Preseason stuff is for you guys,” Lloyd said of the two rankings being for the media’s reference point. “It’s to quantify something that might not be quantifiable, so I’m cool with that. I mean obviously media is a big part of what we do, and if it helps you guys out, I got no problem with it.
“I have not spent one second thinking about it, talking about it.”
In a similar vein, Lloyd was asked about none of his players being selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team — senior guard Jaden Bradley in particular — and said he doesn’t need self-serving players, but rather guys that care about helping the team win. Houston (three players), BYU (two) and Texas Tech (two) were the most well-represented on the preseason list.
Though Lloyd emphasized — more than once — the lack of stock he places in the preseason, he wasn’t opposed to reflecting on the program’s first year in the Big 12, saying the biggest learning curve was conference road games.
BYU’s atmosphere was top of mind, but Kansas State was memorable because of the state of the home team.
“Even Kansas State we showed up there, they were kind of struggling to pick it up, and you’re like, ‘OK, these people aren’t acting like their team’s struggling,'” Lloyd said. “They’re wearing their purple and wanting blood.”
Arizona lost that Feb. 11 game, 73-70, and battled for a 6-4 road record. It doesn’t read that impressive but was among the reasons Lloyd said the Wildcats were able to stick around in the Big 12 Tournament seeding and make a run at Houston for the title.
Loaded with seven freshman, including the likes of Brayden Burries, Dwayne Aristode and Koa Peat, Arizona is expected to lean heavily on youth but Lloyd said he hasn’t decided on a lineup for Saturday. And while he wants to set his eventual starting five up for success entering their season opener against defending national champion and preseason No. 3 Florida, the coach also said he has an obligation to give his whole unit some looks.
Lloyd: Red-Blue Showcase was fun, but could be bigger
With Rob Gronkowski and Shaquille O’Neal as co-hosts, the 2025 Red-Blue Showcase was naturally a spectacle for ESPN+ viewers, and anyone on social media on Oct. 3.
Lloyd was left with just one question though.
“Can we do it bigger next year? Can we have a bigger moment for Tucson and our basketball program around the Red-Blue game? So, dreaming big but also waking up to the reality of a tough season,” Lloyd said.
Junior center Motiejus Krivas, who is in his third year with team, was a fan of Gronk’s guest appearance but not of his impact on the Blue team (getting ejected didn’t help).
“It was fun, some show element. I mean he dragged our team down, but it was fun,” Krivas said.
After a technical foul, Rocky Gronkstone has been EJECTED from the Red and Blue Showcase!? pic.twitter.com/b17wY7DKfM
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 4, 2025
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