Following their loss to Houston on Saturday, Tommy Lloyd stated in the postgame "Let's see what team shows up" on Monday at Baylor. Lloyd added, "Our season isn't going to be determined today by what happened, but how we reposed might have a lot to do with where we go."
Baylor won 74-71 in overtime on Saturday over West Virginia. The Bears are 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the Big XII in a three-way tie for sixth. Arizona beat Baylor 81-70 in Tucson last month as the Bears played without key players Jalen Celestine and Langston Love, who have recently returned.
Baylor has been hindered by injuries all season with forward Norchad Omier the only Bear who has played all 25 games. The Bears are only 4-8 away from home but are 11-1 in Waco this season. TCU beat Baylor 74-71 in their only home loss last month. Baylor has won four straight home games since losing to TCU.
Arizona enters the game on Monday night attempting to avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time under Lloyd. Arizona had a win over Davidson at the Battle 4 Atlantis in November in between consecutive losses to Wisconsin and Duke and then Oklahoma and West Virginia in the Bahamas.
"You guys all think...we're going to get our ass kicked at Baylor because we're tired, we're on a long stretch, we're going to play a road game, our heads are going to be down. Let's see what team shows up...We might get our ass kicked Monday, but we have to keep moving. We might not. I want to see what we have. I want to see what our guys are made of. I want to see how they respond. Our season isn't going to be determined today by what happened, but how we respond might have a lot to do with where we go."Tommy Lloyd via Wildcat Authority,
Arizona will be playing its third game in seven days on Monday night at Baylor in what was likely the long stretch Lloyd referred to. Coaches frequently state how a team responds to adversity, which can define a season. Arizona has responded with wins each of the first two times they lost consecutive games this season.
Playing at Baylor is a far more difficult challenge than Davidson on a neutral court and Southern Utah at home in the games Arizona won to end their previous two-game losing streaks this season. Baylor enters the game on Monday night with their own inconsistencies. The Bears are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Baylor has not won two consecutive games since late January. The Bears fell two spots to 28th in the NCAA Net Ratings after their win on Saturday. Arizona at Baylor is a critical quadrant one game for both teams. Arizona is 7-7 versus quad-one opponents ahead of the game at Baylor. The Bears are 5-8 versus Quad One.
Lloyd provided all the built in excuses his team could use for reasons to explain losses. The challenge was laid out to avoid excuses. Lloyd has continually stated on to the next game in his post-game press conferences and on the Arizona radio broadcast. How Arizona responds on Monday could give Lloyd answers.