2026 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 13, 2026

Tommy Lloyd

Anthony Dell'Orso

Jaden Bradley

T-Mobile Center

Arizona Wildcats

Postgame Press Conference

Arizona - 82, Iowa State - 80

THE MODERATOR: Coach Lloyd is joining us with Jaden Bradley and Anthony Dell'Orso.

TOMMY LLOYD: Guys, it was a great game, an epic battle. And I respect Iowa State so much. I thought they played really well today. Their shot-making was different than when we played them 10 days ago.

They're a good team. And they were a very good version of themselves today, and they really made us dig deep literally 40 minutes.

We were just trying to hang on by a thread, stay in the game, and our guys just did a great job of being steady, keeping us competitive and then allowing us to make a few runs.

I talked a lot last night. I think you guys need to talk to these guys. These guys were way better players than I'll ever be as a coach today. I mean, they were amazing in just handling that deal because Iowa State is a team, you think you have a plan, it just doesn't work.

We have an acronym that we use, that I use a lot. FIO -- figure it out. And we practice a lot of figure-it-out situations. And the players gotta kind of, in the moment, figure out the right plays to make with the right fundamentals.

And when they do that, when they're figuring things out, complicated things, we're our best version of ourselves. I'm appreciative of these two guys on my right. I'll let you guys ask them some questions.

Q. Jaden, how did you figure it out on the last possession?

JADEN BRADLEY: I really didn't. I just went with the flow. It was a crazy shot. It was great defense. Just had it going.

Iowa State's a tough defensive team. If you call a timeout they probably get their defense set. So it was a crazy shot, but it was a great defense, for sure.

Q. Jaden, were you expecting the timeout to be called there? Was it just kind of go with the flow because of the previous two minutes? It was an insane run there. Just take us through your head a little bit of that, and if you're thinking the guy to your left there was going to show the timeout.

JADEN BRADLEY: It was a crazy two minutes, a lot of shot-making, crazy plays. But I was just looking at Coach, seeing when he wanted, kind of communicating. He said, go. I was trying to figure out what they were going to do. I mean they were trapping all night. So just trying to read and react and it was just a crazy shot.

TOMMY LLOYD: When I looked at JB driving the ball up, he wasn't looking at me. He was waving everybody down. So I knew what we were doing.

I had made the mistake, I had a timeout I use-it-or-lose-it in the first half. And I called it. And, man, they had a 9-0 run after. So, you know, they went up. And I knew they were going to trap. We knew didn't have the greatest timeout, let's put it that way.

And we came out and we had worked really hard in that first half to get up the three, and we wanted to finish tighter. Up and we end down six. So I wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

And giving JB some space. He kind of plays chess out there a little bit moved the guys around where he wanted them. And he got to a spot. It's a shot we've seen him hit a lot this year.

Q. Jaden, if I could actually follow up and have you speak about your teammate here. Anthony, in the previous four games he had 23 points total; 26 tonight. What kind of player is he and what did you see out there on the floor?

JADEN BRADLEY: Deli, he's crazy, literally. No, I'm proud of Deli. He had his ups and downs this season. But we all believe in him. His shot-making ability, his defense has got so much better.

We just trusted him. We just got so many guys that can get it going at any night, and tonight was Deli's night. Proud of the way he's going and he's going to keep flowing from here.

Q. Anthony, can you kind of talk about what it was like being in that kind of game where you're throwing a haymaker making a 3 and then Momcilovic is making a 3? And you guys just seemed to be going blow for blow and both of you were really hitting your shots tonight.

ANTHONY DELL'ORSO: Yeah, I mean, he's a great player. Obviously a great shooter. You've seen what he's done all year. Two great teams ultimately going at it.

I mean, Coach says it was like a chess match out there, everyone playing at their best and their highest intent. And he was making good shots and we were making good shots and we were able to get it done.

Q. To expand on that. What does it feel like when you're in that zone. Explain the confidence that you have when you've got it going that you can just fire away from anywhere and you have the confidence that it's going in?

ANTHONY DELL'ORSO: It's a great feeling, obviously. You see a couple go down and you just keep getting more and more confidence. I said it before it's like shooting in the ocean, you feel like you can't miss. JB and a bunch of other teammates found me in great spots, and I felt I was open all the time, and I was able to knock them down tonight.

Q. Shooting from the corner is always nice, but when you're able to turn to the fans or your bench, scream and celebrate, how does it feel to be able to get your emotions out after making a big play?

ANTHONY DELL'ORSO: Feels great. Obviously after the start we had, we had a bit of slow start, I see myself coming off the bench, that's something I've gotta bring to the team, get us going, whether that is scoring, passing, defense, whatever it is. But that emotion, we all feed off that.

Coach emphasizes giving energy and showing emotion. That's something I pride myself and I can bring every night.

TOMMY LLOYD: I'll just say, the shooting today, I want to give credit to Brian Thornton and Brett Yormark. To have the courage to try something new and then even the bigger cajones to change it, it really made a difference tonight. Just getting these guys playing on a surface they're comfortable with. But I don't think what was told yesterday, the different feel on the court caused them to overinflate the balls yesterday.

So it was, like, tough shooting. You know what I mean? Sometimes these Wilson balls, you play in the NCAA Tournament, if they're overinflated, it's really hard to get a get a feel for them and it feels like a brick a little bit. That's probably maybe one of the reasons there's a lot of bricks thrown up.

Today, back on the natural surface, they're able to put the ball back in its normal -- where it's supposed to be inflated. You can see, Deli and I talked about it. He's at Campbell, he played with that Wilson ball almost exclusively. So he's really comfortable with it. That makes a difference.

That probably begs the bigger question, we probably should eventually figure out how to have a unified ball among all the NCAA. It's crazy that we don't.

Because it does -- the playing surface and the ball impacts the game more than people think because these guys are -- I mean they're trained professionals. And they do this every single day. So how they feel matters to allow them to perform at their best.

So I want to give a shout out to our conference leadership for having the courage to do that, because I think it allowed for a platform for a beautiful basketball game to happen tonight.

Q. How difficult was it trying to stop Momcilovic, especially off the inbound plays? Seemed he was able to get open and just make everything?

JADEN BRADLEY: He's a great player, crazy shooter. He's like 6'7", 6'8". He can shoot right over the top of you. (Lost audio) contested and pray it doesn't go in.

Q. Anthony, 3-point shooting like that is something that can carry teams pretty far into March. I just want to know how you think you can use this as momentum and carry it forward?

ANTHONY DELL'ORSO: Yeah, just staying consistent and confident. That's two things that I can keep myself accountable for. Doesn't take any effort. Doesn't take anything other than mindset.

And then I can rely on these guys. They've been there for me all year through the ups and downs. And they haven't lost any confidence in me. Coach hasn't lost any confidence in me, and that's what I can count on. I just gotta go out there and give it my all.

Q. Do you know by how much PSI the balls are overinflated?

TOMMY LLOYD: I don't. I'm a feel guy. You throw a ball let me squeeze it a little bit, I'll tell you if it's good. I don't know the PSIs.

Q. That's arguably the best game of the entire season. I wonder if either of you think you've played in a game 40 minutes that matched the intensity, shot-making? Was that the best game that either of you have played in?

JADEN BRADLEY: For me I think it was. Just the back and forth, Iowa State, their defense, their offensive ability. Deli was hitting shots. Tobe was on the glass. Everybody contributed to this game. It was crazy.

ANTHONY DELL'ORSO: I think you play big games, we played a bunch of big games this year, and it feels like it keeps getting tougher and tougher down the road. They were playing great. We were playing great. You enter into that kind of flow state.

And guys just brought everything. There were multiple facets of the game other than just shooting that go unnoticed, but we definitely pay attention to that.

Q. Tell me about tomorrow's game. You have a preference on who you want to match up or what does it look like?

TOMMY LLOYD: You think I'm falling for that trick? Oh, my gosh. (Laughter).

Here's what I'll say -- and I'll say this half facetiously and half truth -- the gift is we get to play Houston or Kansas at home. What an awesome opportunity.

You know, and I've been in these situations before where you maybe had a semifinal buzzer-beater win. You've got to get your emotions in checks fast. And you've got to move on. You've got to take a shower with a smile on your face, but when that shower's done, it's on to the next one. And we've got to prepare.

We put ourselves in position to win a championship, and you don't get a lot of opportunities to do that over the course of the season. So tomorrow deserves our best effort. And, you know, I know our staff and these guys are going to take it seriously.

And we know tomorrow's game could be -- I'm assuming it's going to be just as tough. And we're going to have to figure it out as we go. But I can't wait for that opportunity.