TUCSON, Ariz. — Jaden Bradley scored 17 points, Motiejus Krivas added 13 and No. 2 Arizona clinched the outright Big 12 regular-season title with a 73-57 victory over No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night.
The Wildcats (28-2, 15-2) had secured at least a share of the conference crown by beating Kansas 84-61 on Saturday and sealed it outright by locking down Iowa State defensively, giving coach Tommy Lloyd his 140th win — the most in NCAA history for a coach’s first five seasons.
“The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country,” Lloyd said to the home crowd. “And to win it by a couple of games, it’s pretty impressive. So take your hats off to these guys right here.”
Iowa State (24-6, 11-6) struggled against Arizona’s physical defense, shooting 29% for the game and 7-of-30 from 3-point range. Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 17 points. Leading scorer Milan Momcilovic was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting and went 1-for-5 from deep after entering the game as the nation’s top 3-point shooter at 51%.
Lloyd also pushed back on a narrative that Arizona was “soft,” pointing to the team’s rebounding and paint presence. “If you want to just be lazy and not pay attention and say we’re soft because we’re on the West Coast, be lazy, and I’d love to play against you,” he said.
The first half featured poor shooting for both teams, with Iowa State 9-of-33 overall and 4-of-20 from 3. Arizona ground out much of the half before closing on a 15-3 run to take a 37-25 lead into the break.
The Cyclones opened the second half by missing their first eight shots, allowing Arizona to push the lead to 16. Iowa State cut it to 44-37 on a 10-1 run but then went more than five minutes without a field goal as Arizona rebuilt a 15-point advantage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
