College hoops followers buzz after No. 16 Texas Tech takes down No. 1 Arizona at house 

No. 16 Texas Tech handed No. 1 Arizona its second straight loss as Tommy Lloyd’s team suffered a 78-75 home defeat in overtime. Arizona lost its first game this season to Kansas last Monday before Saturday’s defeat to the Red Raiders made it two losses in two games.

As Lloyd is left finding answers after getting dislodged from the top of the Big 12, fans across social media shared their reactions.

Sunny SD wrote on X:

“Love it!! Tommy Lloyd ego check. He needs it.”

Toni posted:

“March came early.”

Daymond Patterson II wrote:

“Sometimes you need that reality check before March Madness starts.”

Rmacs commented:

“Arizona basketball not showing up in those big moments … going on 30 years now. Ouch.”

ACB commented:

“Well, I can confidently say Arizona will not be #1 in the rankings for a while. They may still be one of the best teams in the country, but not the top dog.”

Michael R posted:

“This year’s March Madness will be wide open! There is no dominant team! ANYBODY CAN GET GOT.”

Tommy Lloyd’s reaction to Arizona’s loss

Through the Wildcats’ 23-0 start to the season, Tommy Lloyd maintained that he isn’t expecting the season to be a walk in the park. However, he might not have thought of having a week as devastating as the just-concluded one before March Madness.

Nevertheless, he refrained from cooking up excuses, choosing instead to talk about the future in his Saturday postgame interview.

“If you think you’re going through a season unscathed, you’ve never done this before. We need to keep at it. We need to keep our heads high. There’s no shame in losing to Texas Tech today. We wish we would’ve come out on top, but we didn’t. We’re going to learn from it, understand we’re still a good team, and keep building.”

Arizona had to deal with a situation concerning Koa Peat during Saturday’s game. The freshman, who has been an important part of the Wildcats’ starting lineup, injured his lower leg during the game. The forward could only play for 11 minutes, contributing two points, a rebound, and an assist.

His absence contributed to the Wildcats’ difficulties in the game, as the team missed his 6’8, 235-pound structure upcourt. Fellow freshman Dwayne Aristode also missed Saturday’s loss with an illness and could also be out of the next game against BYU.