ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

That was intentional. The Wildcats have been together pretty much for the past eight months, anyway.

“We try to do special things for our guys. I think they went out to a good dinner last night,� Lloyd said Wednesday at the Wildcats’ team hotel after a practice to prepare for a Big 12 quarterfinal game Thursday.

“You know, sometimes I like to give them some space, and I spend some time with my family on those days because I’m with these guys a lot. I don’t think they need me sitting across from them when they’re eating their dinners out.�

Not only did Lloyd say he enjoyed “one of the better steaks I’ve had in a while,� but also said he had a great night enjoying the company of his other team: His wife, daughter, daughter-in-law and grandson.

Yep, even 8-month-old Luka Lloyd made the trip, the hoop-blooded son of UA guard Liam Lloyd and fiancée, Halle Jenkins.

“Yeah,� Tommy Lloyd said of his grandson. “He’s on the travel squad.�

Loving it

Before the Wildcats went through a more normal pregame practice away from T-Mobile Center, they took advantage of a 30-minute time slot at T-Mobile Center.

That gave them a chance to dribble on and throw up some shots over a floor featuring 31 rows of nonstop light gray “XII�s plus large Big 12 “XII� logos at halfcourt and in the free-throw lanes.

Even though the court has drawn polarizing views, UA guard Caleb Love said he liked it and expressed no concern about playing on it.

“It doesn’t affect anything,� he said. “You got to put that orange ball in the hoop. That’s all that matters.�

NCAA ‘settlement’ committee

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Desireé Reed-Francois was one of 10 athletic directors named to a Settlement Implementation Committee that is expected to set up a new system for paying players once the House case is settled after a scheduled final hearing on April 7.

The committee features two ADs from each of the five power conferences that were defendants in a series of cases collectively referred to as the “House case,� including Oregon State’s Scott Barnes and Washington State’s Ann McCoy, since the Pac-12 was among the defendants.

The NCAA issued a statement Wednesday saying the committee has been working on drafting compliance rules, developing a digital platform for reporting and measuring payments to players, creating a system to ensure NIL deals are only “to advance a business purpose� and forming an accountability system to deal with “bad actors.�

The NCAA and the involved conferences are “rapidly preparing to implement a new model for the future of college sports focused on stability and fairness,� the statement said.

Lloyd defends fan comments

During a brief press conference earlier this week at McKale Center, Lloyd defended his statement after ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ lost at Kansas that there was a “gapâ€� between homecourt environments at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and those at Iowa State and Kansas, where the Wildcats lost on successive Saturdays entering the Big 12 tournament.

“Let’s not dig deeper and try to make something out of something very small,� Lloyd said. “The atmosphere at Kansas, for those that were there, was spectacular, and it’s awesome. I’m always looking for ways for our program to be better.

“And listen, Desireé and I are on the same page. We want to continue to make our gameday experience better for our fans, and it’s good already. It has been great some days. But is there another step? For sure, there’s always another step.

“You’re always looking to get better. It’s not an indictment on our fans. I love our fans, so I wouldn’t take it as anything other than Kansas was awesome that day. The atmosphere was above and beyond.�

Sweet 16

Colorado became the first 16th-seeded team to win not one, but two conference tournament games when it went on a 15-0 run late in the second half to come back and beat eighth-seeded West Virginia 67-60 in a second-round game Wednesday.

The Buffs trailed by up to 13 points in the first half and by nine with 9:43 left before making their run.

“Really, really proud of this group, because we have had a rough year in terms of coming up short in some of these games,� Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “These guys have stuck together.�

Colorado (14-19) lost its first 13 Big 12 games and finished in last place at 3-17 but has now won three straight.

Iowa State beat Cincinnati 76-56 in the other early game Wednesday.

The big number

18: Quad 1 games played by ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, the third-most in the country. The Wildcats are 7-11 in those games.

Quotable

“I’m glad we’re sitting here today not on the bubble.� — UA coach Tommy Lloyd, whose Wildcats were 6-5 in nonconference play without a win over a power-conference team before the Big 12 season