Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was clear in his message that a Big XII regular-season championship would be meaningful for the Wildcats. Lloyd discussed what winning the Big XII regular season title would mean for Arizona when he met with reporters on Thursday.
Arizona leads the Big XII with 13 wins and two losses with three games remaining in the regular season. Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech are tied for second in the Big XII with 11 wins and four losses. Arizona hosts Kansas on Saturday and Iowa State on Monday.
Colorado hosts Arizona in the final regular-season game for both teams on March 7. If Arizona wins two out of its last three regular-season games, it will be the outright Big XII regular-season champion. The regular-season title would be the first for Arizona in any sport.
Arizona lost its first game of the 2025-26 season on February 9 at Kansas. Texas Tech gave Arizona its second consecutive loss on February 14. Those are the only two losses for 26-2 Arizona this season. Arizona is second in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls that were released on Monday.
"By no means...should it be bestowed upon us...We're going to have to go get it...This team's done a good job hanging with it all year and putting ourselves in position...Let's see what happens Saturday and see if we can inch closer to getting there...It'd be a great accomplishment....Conference...regular season...championships mean a lot...to programs and to the coaches. maybe not the fan bases...as much because they...get fixated on what they consider the final result...when you do what we do...anytime you're...judged over a conference season against...your competitors and if you can come out on top, that says something about your program....We want to be a team competing for championships."Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd
Earning the Big XII title
As Lloyd said, Arizona will have to earn the Big XII title and it will not be bestowed upon them. Kansas is 14th in both national polls. Iowa State is fourth in the AP Top 25 and fifth in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa State plays at Texas Tech on Saturday. An Iowa State win would give Arizona another chance at a top-five victory.
Arizona was 23-14 overall and 14-6, tied for third with BYU in its first season in the Big XII in 2024-25. Arizona finished 27-9 overall and 15-5 in its final season to win the 2023-24 Pac-12 regular season championship. A 2026 Big XII regular-season title would be the 30th conference championship for Arizona basketball.
The ESPN Basketball Power Index projects Arizona with a 99.5 percent chance to win the Big XII regular-season title. Houston is second at 7.0 percent, followed by Iowa State at 5.7 percent and Kansas at 5.0 percent. The remaining Big XII teams have less than a 1.0 percent chance to win the Big XII regular season title.
If Arizona beats Kansas, Iowa State, or Colorado, they would clinch a tie for the Big XII regular-season title. Beating Kansas and/or Iowa State are critical for seeding in the Big XII Tournament. Kansas and Iowa State would own tiebreakers against Arizona and need one more loss from the Wildcats to earn the number one seed.