TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Men's Basketball is set to host a hot BYU team on Saturday.
"Just because they played good against Kansas doesn't mean they start plus 10 in this game," Arizona Men's Basketball Coach, Tommy Lloyd said.
With five games to go in the regular season, head coach Tommy Lloyd is unexpectedly looking ahead.
"This time of year, you're starting to see how the standing may look," Lloyd said. "Certain teams are making pushes to try and improve their opportunities for the postseason."
Arizona sits in 2nd place at 18-8 (Big 12 12-3) in the Big-12 standings and is a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
BYU still has some work to do, but the Cougars' 91-57 upset of perennial power Kansas does show that they are moving in the right direction.
BYU is 18-8 as well, with a 9-6 record in conference play.
"Sometimes teams can play with a certain desperation that energizes them," Lloyd said. "We have had to play with that desperation for quite a while. So, I would just say that the desperation element you can throw into a team's approach can impact the effort and energy they play with on any given night."
Despite BYU's coming in on a winning streak, Lloyd said he's not approaching this game any differently, whether on a winning or losing streak.
"Every game starts out 0 to 0 last time I checked," Lloyd said. "That's it, zero to zero mentality, zero to zero approach, possession by possession, and don't make it any more than that."
Tip-off is 8 p.m. on Saturday at Mckale.
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Erin Patterson is a reporter for KGUN 9. She's agraduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s in News Media with a Sports Concentration. Erin recently obtained her Master's Degree in Sports Journalism from Arizona State University at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where she gained experience a sports reporter, anchor and producer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Erin by emailing erin.patterson@kgun9.com.
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