Because ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was given a rare five-day break between games this week, and because the Wildcats had faded down the stretch in their past three outings, the question wasn’t whether rest was in order.
It was about how much rest.
So after the No. 19 Wildcats beat Baylor 74-67 on Monday, UA coach Tommy Lloyd answered that one proactively.
“We’ll probably take a couple days off in a row, so you don’t even have to ask me,†Lloyd said.
Lloyd said he was thankful the Wildcats received an extended chance to take it easy this week, with a Big 12 schedule that usually allows no more than four 24-hour periods between games, and said he was excited to return home to face BYU on Saturday.
Baylor guard Robert Wright III drives to the basket against ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ guard Anthony Dell’Orso during the first half Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Waco, Texas.
As it turned out, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ did not hold a formal practice on the court Tuesday or Wednesday, though some players did work out individually or with a UA staffer.
People are also reading…
The Wildcats won’t get a break like this for the rest of the regular season, and maybe into the postseason.
After hosting BYU on Saturday and Utah on Wednesday, they’ll have a short turnaround to travel to No. 8 Iowa State for a game on March 1, then they’ll return for a March 4 home finale against ASU — and fire the charter plane back up for another trip to the Plains to finish the regular season on March 8 at No. 23 Kansas.
UA will also probably start playing in the Big 12 Tournament on March 13 in Kansas City, barring an unlikely fall below the fourth-place spot, in which case they would start on March 12.
That’s five trips to the Central time zone and back over a five-week period.
Baylor’s Hall of Champions in the Foster Pavilion concourse celebrates the Bears’ women’s and men’s championships, with their practice court shown below between them.
There’s some evidence suggesting that sort of running around already could be taking its toll.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ led at Kansas State on Feb. 11 by two points with 4:05 to go but lost 73-70 thanks in part to four turnovers that led to six K-State points after that point.
The Wildcats led then-No. 6 Houston on Feb. 15 by seven points with 9:10 to go but lost 62-58 thanks in part to 3-for-11 field goal shooting after that point (while Houston was 8 for 12)
UA led Baylor on Monday 53-39 with 12:49 to go, but had the lead cut to three and won by only seven after shooting 5 for 16 from that point.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ forward Tobe Awaka shoots against Baylor forward Norchad Omier during the second half Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Waco, Texas.Â
The Bears, meanwhile, were 10 of 20 from the field over that same period, and also outrebounded UA 15-11 at the same time.
“We’ve been a second-half team,†Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I thought our guys competed and gave us a chance in the second half. And probably maybe they got a little tired, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ did.â€
But as he spoke just before Drew, when asked if fatigue was playing a role late in the Wildcats’ recent games, Lloyd spoke more about the competition than anything else.
“You and I can think about every excuse in the book,†Lloyd said. “I’m not an excuse guy. We had two games that I thought were winnable. I’ve re-watched them, and I re-watched the end of them really closely, to try to figure out ways I can get better, and to help our guys a little bit more, obviously giving them some advice on how I think we can close these games better.
“I think we’ve been a good closing team the last couple months. We just lost a tough game to a K-State team that’s playing really well at home and obviously, Houston’s got a great thing going. So we’ve got to move on. We’ve got to move on to the next one.â€
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
