Tommy Lloyd of Arizona and T.J. Otzelberger of No. 3 Iowa State will face each other for the first time on Monday night in Tucson, Ariz. Both coaches began their successful careers in 2021-22 and have reached impressive milestones.
Lloyd recently earned his 100th career win in the fastest time for an active head coach, accomplishing it in just 126 games. His current record stands at 101-26 after a 78-63 win over Colorado on Saturday.
Otzelberger, with a record of 87-37 at Iowa State, has an overall coaching record of 186-100, with past coaching experience at South Dakota State and UNLV.
The Cyclones (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) are coming off a strong 76-61 win against Arizona State on Saturday, dominating the second half with a 43-21 run.
Arizona (13-6, 7-1) had a close first half against Colorado, leading 33-31, but pulled away for the win.
Lloyd acknowledged that Monday’s game isn’t the season’s make-or-break moment but sees it as an important opportunity. He emphasized the need for his team to earn their chance at winning the Big 12.
Arizona’s recent success can be attributed to key role players like guard Anthony Dell’Orso and post player Henri Veesaar. Veesaar has averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in the past five games, while Dell’Orso, a transfer from Campbell, scored a career-high 20 points, including six 3-pointers, in the win against Colorado.
“I’ve told Delly all along, ‘You’ve got to stay locked in and ready because there’s gonna be nights where I need you to be our leading scorer,’” Lloyd said.
Iowa State’s Curtis Jones led the Cyclones with a career-high 33 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in their win over Arizona State.
Joshua Jefferson added a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Jones scored the final five points in a 19-3 run to seal the game after scoring 18 points in the first half.
“I feel like I’m always looking to be that aggressive at all times, whether we’re struggling or not,” Jones said.
With just one day between games, both teams will face a quick turnaround, unlike the usual two-day break between Big 12 games.
Lloyd views this quick prep as a valuable test ahead of March, stating, “We’ve got a really, really, really good team coming in on Monday, a top-five team, and it’s going to be a really good challenge for us to see where we’re at.”
Otzelberger didn’t focus on the similarity to the NCAA Tournament schedule, saying, “We just look at it as this is the job that we have in front of us, and we need to prepare for this opportunity.”
