TUCSON – Arizona avenged its only loss in conference play on Saturday with a win over No. 13 Texas Tech. The Wildcats were without starting forward Trey Townsend, who was out with a concussion. That didn’t stop Arizona, with big men Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar dominating inside for Tommy Lloyd’s squad. Guards Jaden Bradley and Caleb Love each finished with a team-high 16 points, helping the Wildcats extend their win streak to six games. See what Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, along with Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka had to say postgame following a gritty, physical 82-73 win over No. 13 Texas Tech:
Tommy Lloyd
Tommy Lloyd postgame on the performance from Arizona bigs Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar against Texas Tech:
“They were awesome. They’ve really developed. I think one thing, let’s not forget, I felt like we had one of the most dominant bigs in the country coming back this year in Mo Krivas, and he’s out and these other guys have done an incredible job stepping up. I mean, we’ve always been a program that’s taken a ton of pride in our bigs and their development, and listen, everyone’s a work in progress, but the way Henri and Tobe played today was pretty special. They really took the challenge of the physicality.”
Tommy Lloyd on if playing Texas Tech at home versus on the road impacted the final score tonight:
“We all know there’s an advantage to playing at home, it’s 101 in college basketball. I think that and us not playing what we felt was up to our level of physicality or attention to detail – obviously we were able to address some things from the last time we played them. That being said, the margin of error was still really, really small, and luckily we were able to get out on the right side of that today.”
Tommy Lloyd on playing Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar together in stretches tonight:
“When Trey goes out, and our rotation changes a little bit. To be honest with you, I did not know Trey wasn’t going to play until closer to the game. And one of the things we were practicing initially was playing the two big lineup. I just thought it would be important this game. I thought we got crushed on the glass so bad by these guys last time.
Listen, we were planning on playing two bigs to start out the season, and then Mo gets hurt, things change. So I definitely think Henri and Tobe playing together is something we can see down the stretch of the season, and I think there’s a lot of advantages to it. I think Tobe did a great job defensively, no matter what position he played today. I thought Henri was really impactful around the rim today, changing shots, and then coming up with rebounds around the basket.”
Tommy Lloyd on Arizona’s physicality and if the Big 12 has brought some of that out:
“I’ve always thought we’re a physical program. There’s different levels to the physicality obviously, like Houston probably being at the top of the list. I’ve always felt like – I love physical basketball. It’s nothing we’ve ever shied away from, but I also know in this conference, you’ve got to be built for it, and if you’re not, you’re going to get crushed on the glass, and you’re going to get crushed physically.”
Tommy Lloyd on the peskiness of Arizona’s defense this season:
“You have guys like JB and KJ, they’re scrappy. Caleb’s defense these last couple games has been supreme. He’s really rose to the challenge. Tobe, I mean, I don’t know if he’s scrappy or thumpy, or whatever you want to call it, but he’s something. You know, he brings it. And Henri really responded today. These guys punked Henri last game. And so obviously we challenged Henri, and he was there for the fight today.
Jaden Bradley
Jaden Bradley postgame on the differences between Arizona playing in the Pac-12 last year and the Big 12 this year:
“Definitely physicality. It’s tougher. The refs let a lot of calls go, good or bad, and we’ve just got to be able to play through those. The Pac-12 was more up and down, and not as physical, but it’s definitely perks of being more physical and refs letting stuff slide.”
Jaden Bradley on his defensive performance, including five steals:
“Credit to our bigs not letting their bigs get to their favorite moves, their left hand, right hand, and making them spin. We talked about being in the gaps, and we did a great job with that, and I was able to get some loose ball steals from Henri knocking it loose or Tobe knocking it loose, so really just loose change from credit to our bigs.”
Jaden Bradley on Caleb Love’s improvement as a defender this season:
“Phenomenal defender. You know, coach has challenged him to pick his defensive energy up, and I feel like today he did a great job. Even though it doesn’t show like steals or anything, it’s just contested shots, being in the passing lanes, taking away passes. He’s really grown on that end and can be a great defender.”
Tobe Awaka
Tobe Awaka postgame on how he and fellow Arizona big Henri Veesaar can continue building chemistry after playing together against Texas Tech:
“I think it’s just time. We haven’t done it too often throughout the year, so the more reps we get at it in-game, during practice, the more we’ll gel. But, I think we’re a great one, two punch. Henri’s a great floor spacer. I’m more physical inside, so kind of having that dynamic I think is really tough for teams to guard.”
Tobe Awaka on the physicality of the Texas Tech translating to upcoming games at Kansas State and against Houston:
“I think it has no choice but to. We know what those two teams are capable of – it’s sort of their DNA as teams. The same mentality that we brought today we have to bring to those two games as well.”