SAN JOSE, CA — “Here we go again.”
It was the collective thought nearly every Arizona fan had when the Wildcats went into halftime of their Elite Eight matchup against Purdue down seven points. One of the best teams in program history was on the verge of a familiar result that had plagued the program for 25 years: falling short of the Final Four.
Athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois was nervous. Mix Master Mike was sweating. Families were stressed.
But while Bear Down nation was anxious, all was calm inside the Wildcats locker room.
Everyone rushed in, awaiting to hear what coach Tommy Lloyd would say to flip the script. The inspirational pep talk made for cinema.
But he didn’t have anything to say.
Instead, he turned the attention to his players. Let them figure out what they need to do to change course.
That conversation changed the entire narrative of Arizona basketball.
The rallying of the Wildcats was the secret ingredient needed to get over the hump, propelling Arizona to a thunderous second half that turned the tension into elation, ending years of misery with the program’s first Final Four trip since 2001.
When Lloyd left the microphone open, it was the veterans that grabbed it.
Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka, Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas, all players that had experienced the shortcomings and were set on making sure the talented freshmen accompanying them wouldn’t suffer the same fate.
“They all talked to us and just told us to keep going. You know, we’ve been through adversity this season,” said freshman Koa Peat. “Can’t get too high or too low. Just stay even-keeled.”
Lloyd and the coaching staff just listened, and couldn’t be prouder how the veterans addressed the situation. It was something he’d done a few times during the regular season, but the situation absolutely called for it, because they needed to figure it out.
“The most powerful thing in a team sport is a player-led program. The coach, you have to help them navigate it, but when you can get the players to kind of own these moments, you are just so much better,” he said.
By the time the players said their piece, the confidence in the room was beaming. This team was ready to get back on the court. Lloyd had one last message for them.
“Let’s go kick their ass,” Lloyd said.
They did.
It was a literal tale of two halves as Arizona suffocated Purdue in the final 20 minutes, turning the SAP Center into McKale Center West, the pro-Wildcats crowd rocking the entire arena.
Arizona needed just five minutes to turn a seven-point deficit into a lead it would hold onto the rest of the way, leading by as much as 15 points late to stop any thoughts of a Boilermakers comeback.
The shots were going in, 3-pointers were falling, and the Wildcats got to the foul line just like they wanted to.
But really, the story was the defense.
Purdue got a halftime lead thanks to seven 3-pointers, but the perimeter was closed in the second half. It missed its next seven attempts, only making one 3-pointer, coming with eight seconds left when Arizona was already celebrating.
In fact, Purdue’s shooting was just off. It shot 32.1% in the second half, making just nine shots, just above the seven free throws it made in the same time frame.
The Boilermakers were exceptional at taking care of the ball, with the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 2.22. Arizona forced turnovers, with Purdue turning it over 11 times, resulting in 15 Arizona points that only added to the pressure.
Arizona took Purdue out completely, resulting in a 22-point advantage in the last 20 minutes.
“We had a couple of turnovers here and there, and then obviously missed shots. Then we weren’t able to get a couple of stops,” said Purdue guard Braden Smith. “Obviously, credit to Arizona. They’re an unbelievable team.”
An unbelievable team that pulled off a result that was starting to seem unachievable.
Arizona has had so many good squads this century that were capable of reaching the Final Four, but it felt like some sort of hex prevented the Wildcats from getting there. Since 2010, Arizona has the fourth-most wins in Division I … but was the only program in the top five that had not made a Final Four.
That’s why, when the buzzer officially sounded, there was a collective exhale that was 25 years in the making.
“I am speechless,” Reed-Francois told USA TODAY Sports. “Just feels like a sense of joy. It’s just pure joy, and look at all these people around here that are just so excited.”
A joy that Lloyd and company can’t wait to soak in; there likely will be quite the crowd awaiting the team when it lands back at Tucson International Airport.
“Making it to the Final Four is big,” Bradley said. “We appreciate Tucson, the supporters and everybody behind the scenes. We just are happy that we get to reward them with this.”
After dominating the regular season and West Region, Arizona has proven this isn’t the same old Arizona. It’s no longer a team that chokes in the tournament.
It’s a national power again. And a team not just satisfied with breaking the Final Four drought, but out to win the program’s second national title, and first since 1997.
That’s thanks to a halftime conversation that changed everything for the Wildcats.
“We’re still fighting, and we’re still fighting to get better and see if we can get a little bit better before next Saturday,” Lloyd said.
