Winners and Losers from Day 1 of 2023 NCAA Tournament results

By Brian Emory | Mar 17, 2023

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Garrett Hien #13 of the Furman Paladins steals a pass with 6.3 seconds remaining in their game against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. Furman won 68-76. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Tournament Tommy Lloyd of the Arizona Wildcats (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Loser #1: Arizona

Anytime a coach is making the transition from being an assistant to the head man for the first time there’s likely going to be some sort of learning curve. But that never seemed to be the case for Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd.

With a startling 61 wins throughout his first two seasons as the head of the bench in Tucson, Lloyd has done more than enough to make it clear that he is constructing a juggernaut in the southwest.

But man. It’s been two straight seasons heading into the Big Dance amongst the tournament favorites, and Arizona only has two disappointing exits to show for. The Wildcats limped into the Sweet 16 last year where they got handled by Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. Not the worst tournament debut in the world for Lloyd, but also far from a success for a team that had aspirations of cutting down the nets.

What happened today was a different kind of nightmare.

Princeton didn’t even shoot well, shooting 40.6% from the floor and only 16% from downtown. It didn’t matter and the Wildcats lost anyway. Arizona shot 18.8% from beyond the arc, and after holding a 55-50 lead with 4:45 remaining the Wildcats never scored again.

There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about what the future may hold in Tucson, but Lloyd may still have more to learn than we thought before he’ll be ready to take a team deep into March.

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