Feb 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd yells out to players during the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn ImagesBrian PedersenSun, February 15, 2026 at 4:00 AM UTC·10 min readFor the first time this season, Arizona did not have its full complement of rotation players available. And by the second half the Wildcats were down two of the eight that normally play.
Yet with 3:25 to go in regulation the UA was up seven on Texas Tech and looked like it was going to overcome those absences. And then it didn’t.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We felt like we had opportunities, considering all the things that we’re kind of going through, but you just got to get it done,” coach Tommy Lloyd said after the Wildcats lost 78-75 in overtime for their second consecutive loss after a 23-0 start.
Our game recap can be found here. Below is what Lloyd, senior Tobe Awaka and freshman Ivan Kharchenkov said afterwards:
On the impact of not having Koa Peat in the 2nd half: “It hurts us a lot, but we had enough to win. You’re up seven with three minutes and change to go, you got to find a way to close that out. We didn’t, so Texas Tech gets credit for that. Yeah, it hurts us, it hurts our rotation, but that’s how these seasons go. I mean, it’s kind of funny. You’re just seeing a lot of it across the nation this week. These seasons are long, they’re hard. These kids work hard, these games are physical, and it looks like some of them are starting to get dinged up a little bit. We’ll bounce back. And hopefully we will be fully loaded when we need to be. I love these guys, and we just need a good day off tomorrow, and then kind of focus on winning the next one.”
On what Peat’s injury is: “We’re gonna figure it out. It’s a lower leg deal. I know (trainer Justin Kokoskie) and the doctors are on it and and I’m sure they’ll do some testing and we’ll figure out where it’s at. But I don’t have anything other than that.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn what kept Dwayne Aristode from playing: “Dwayne has like an illness, like nothing crazy, but just something that’s going to probably keep him out for a short while.”
On if he could miss the next game against BYU: “I don’t know for sure but yeah, there’s a chance.”
On not being able to stop Texas Tech’s JT Toppin: “I think the first thing he did is he did what he does, he got a couple of loose ball/rebound, offense rebound-type putbacks. We got him to miss the first shot, but he was able to capitalize and get putbacks on the second. He’s just really good at that. He said he’s a really good player. And he’s very opportunistic, which is a great skill to have.”
On not doubling him like most teams do: “We were telling guys to be comfortable with coming from different angles and stuff like that. He made a few post moves down the stretch at the end of the game that kind of stood out, but other than that, it was more kind of loose balls, put backs and things like that. I thought for a lot of the game, we did a pretty decent job.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the physicality of the game: “Texas Tech, they do a great job of that. I mean, they’re a really physical team. They teach it well, and that’s fine. I think it’s always, the first time you play them, it’s kind of eye-opening for your guys. And then second half I thought we did a better job dealing with it, but like I said, we just didn’t close it out those last few minutes of the game.”
On Arizona’s shot selection down the stretch: “I think we had a few shots that you know were makeable, just rolled off the rim, that you wish you that would just kind of roll in and finish. But it wasn’t easy to get our offensive rhythm all night, it wasn’t easy, and they did a great job defensively.”
On Texas Tech forcing Arizona to shoot 2-pointers further from the basket: “I don’t know what our shot distance was or things like that, but that’s a great tactic, to body us up and make us score over bodies from from distance, for sure.”
On if his team is dealing with fatigue: “I think for everybody it is, I mean, you just got to be honest with yourself. We’re all human. I mean, the season’s been long, obviously you can see some injuries and illnesses are starting to pile up and catch up with us a little bit. But if you think you’re going to go through a season unscathed, you’ve never done this before. So we need to keep at it. We need to keep our heads high. There’s no shame in losing to Texas Tech today. I mean, we wish we would have came out on top and we didn’t. We got to learn from it, and understand we’re still a really good team, and keep building.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn helping the freshmen deal with first home loss: “You have to be honest with them, and they got to see what their shortcomings, where they are, and you got to address them. And then we just got to get back to work. These guys are high character guys, they’ve all lost games here and there in their lives,. They’re winners, they’ve lost a few games. It’s not the first time in their life they’ve had this experience, and not the first time I’ve had it as a coach. So let’s get back to it.”
On if Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson will get more playing time: “I think definitely now, we will see where our numbers end up, and we have a better idea. This kind of fell on us pretty fast, these last few days. So if we have a little more lead time, I think we’ll definitely want to look at Evan and Sidi, kind of some rules that can kind of help give us a little more depth.”
On Kharchenkov forcing OT with 2 free throws: “We got down, we gave up a three that you wish you wouldn’t have. They go up two, and we come down and we found a way to tie the game on the last possession. I mean, that’s big time stuff. We work on that stuff a lot, and to deliver in those game moments is really important.”
On the 3-pointer that put Tech up 2 in regulation: “I think )Jaden Bradley) just lost him, that’s what it looked like to me. It looked like Anderson drove, we kind of had him stopped, and JB, his guy relocated, and JB kind of lost vision of him, and it was late. Just an untimely error, but it happened. So, hopefully we’ll learn from it.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the chess match with Grant McCasland: “We play two very different styles. Grant is a chess player, and I’m more of a checkers player. I play checkers where when I have two, you double them up, and you can jump forwards and backwards and kind of overwhelm people. But that’s being tested right now with where we’re at physically. And they did a great job, and they did a great job. They pulled it out at the end. That’s what you want to do on the road. You want to keep it close and find a way at the end. So 100 percent credit to them. We felt like we had chances, and we didn’t make that player do the job. That’s just reality.”
On if all the festivities around the game were a distraction: “I don’t think so. I don’t think our energy was bad today. It took us a few days to kind of build back from that Kansas trip, but I don’t think so.”
On staying happy despite a 2nd straight loss: “Here’s why I’m happy. I’m going to go to the hospital right now and I’m going to go see my granddaughter that was just born at halftime. London May Lloyd was born at halftime on February 14th. So I’m gonna go see her, hang out with her, and reset like a normal person. I love you guys. We’re fine. I can’t wait to get this team back on the court and kick some ass.”
Awaka on not closing out the game: “We just have to do better. Honestly rebounding was the main thing, not letting them get extra chance shots. Obviously better contesting the shooters, not overplaying them. All the things we know how to do, we just need to do it better.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn Texas Tech’s gameplan: “They definitely packed it in. They knew their scout. They knew some of our tendencies as well. I think we could have done a better job of adjusting. Everyone talks about them being undersized, but they’re super tough. They’re one of the toughest teams we’ve faced this whole season, just in terms of physicality and how aggressive they were.”
On Tech’s physicality: “They just hit hard. They box out hard. They do everything that they do with intent, especially on our drives. They’re bumping us, they’re being physical, not letting anything get to the rim. But again, it’s just kudos to them. They have a great coach that instills in them toughness and a tenacity to do it every play.”
On not putting too much stock in 2 straight losses: “I think it’s just a matter of perspective. I think I’ve kind of said this before, but March is still March. If we do what we do, if we do what we’re supposed to do during that stretch, all this is forgotten. That’s not to say that this doesn’t sting, and home losses don’t sting. We know what the fans mean to us, and just the way that they were able to pack out the stadium today and show their support, and how they’ve been showing support throughout the whole season, it’s tough. I’m not really worried about my own feelings, but theirs, the effort, the energy that they put into supporting us and making sure that we feel like we have an army behind us.”
On what made Toppin so difficult to stop: “I think it was his second chance points. He has a really quick second jump. He has great just sort of body placement in terms of the ball and tracking it down. He seems to always be in the right place at the right time. So again, it’s just kudos to him and the type of player that he is.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKharchenkov on playing with Aristode and Peat: “I guess it’s just the next man up mentality. Of course, we wanted to have them out on the floor but something happened. Shout out to Sidi, he gave a couple minutes. It was big.”
On the losing streak: “Two losses in a row, tough losses. We are going to watch film, we’re gonna get our mistakes a little bit better. Next game is already in a couple days, so we’re going to focus on that. Yeah, sure it happened. Learn from those mistakes, but don’t live in the past. Live in the present.”
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