Following their shocking loss to 15th-Seeded Princeton, the 2022-23 Arizona Basketball season ends, mired in inconsistencies.
Well, year two of the Tommy Lloyd era has come and gone, and despite Arizona Basketball finishing 28-7 (14-6) with a Pac-12 Tournament Championship victory and postseason berth, the Wildcats’ 2022-23 season was largely an unsuccessful one.
Falling to 15th-seeded Princeton in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament with a 59-55 loss, Arizona’s season ends unceremoniously and to the chagrin of fans with lofty expectations.
Coming into the year, not many had high hopes for Arizona, especially as the Wildcats lost four high-level players (three to the NBA Draft) from the previous season, and the team was shrouded in doubt entering 2022-23.
Unfortunately, for the level-headed fans, that was all thrown out the window when Arizona began the year 12-0, en route to winning the Maui Tournament and picking up wins against Top 25 teams Indiana and Tennessee.
Fast forward to now, and the Arizona Basketball season is now mired in inconsistencies, largely thanks to their hasty end in the NCAA Tournament.
For Arizona Basketball, early losses in the Tournament regrettably and unfortunately do happen, and when the stakes get higher, it is hard to be perfect 100 percent of the time.
But one of the few problems that plagued the Wildcats all season seemed to be focus and consistency, or the lack thereof.
With underwhelming losses to Utah, Washington State, Arizona State, and Stanford, effort, focus, and consistency became a growing problem all season, and unfortunately, that all finally came to roost on Thursday afternoon when the Wildcats lost to Princeton despite being double-digit favorites.
The bad habits that troubled Arizona this year ultimately fall on head coach Tommy Lloyd. And while this roster has its glaring issues, this season was a huge disappointment. Hopefully, the program can put this behind them quickly!
Don’t forget to follow us at @ZonaZealots on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of Arizona news, opinions, and recruiting updates!