“Simon says Championship!” Those words will live in the hearts of Wildcat fans forever. Unfortunately, that’s also the last time a team from the West Coast won a National Championship. Way too long without a Natty. This 2024 team has so many similarities to that 1997 squad. That squad was led by Miles Simon, Mike Bibby, and Jason Terry. This team is built different than recent Arizona rosters. They have the mindset to match the talent. When this team is locked in for 40 minutes they can run through anyone. Having two players with National Championship experience can’t hurt either and a coach that has coached in 25 NCAA Tourneys.

“Fortunately I think this is my 25th time in the NCAA tournament, so I’ve been around it a little bit,” Lloyd said. “Some of our guys have been around it a little bit. To be quite honest, I think we’re built for it.”

Tommy Lloyd after 1st Round Win

Two years ago, Caleb Love led UNC to the National Championship against KS. In the tournament he averaged 19 ppg including a 28 point beatdown vs. Duke in Coach K’s final game. Love lives for the big moment. He was the leading scorer on that team. Last year San Diego State went on a run all the way to the national title game before losing to UCONN. The leading scorer in that game for SDSU was Keshad Johnson. Give all the credit to Tommy Lloyd and his ability to construct this roster.

This team has size, depth, leadership, and shooting. Oumar Ballo is playing the best basketball of his career as well. Example A on depth, our PG, Kylan Boswell, is coming off a career high with 20 in the opening round game. He followed that up with 2 points and backup PG, Jaden Bradley, became the star filling out the stat line. Bradley was a starter for most of the season last year for Alabama and led them to a Number 1 seed. Bradley finished with 12 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 steals. He also didn’t turn the ball over. Jason Terry had a very similar role in Tucson during our ’97 run. Bradley needs to stop messing around and go with the knee-high Cats socks.

You don’t come to Arizona if you aren’t serious about winning a Natty. Can the Cats finally end the Championship drought? Right now, the only thing that matters is Clemson and a chance to get to the Elite 8. After back-to-back elite 8 exits to Wisconsin the proud Wildcat Nation hasn’t had the post-season success we expect in Tucson. At this point in the season anything is possible so expect Clemson to land some punches. Arizona needs to jump out to a fast start and force Clemson to run with them. This is as close to a home series as you’ll see in a Sweet 16 matchup.