Bradley is Wildcats’ Plan B in NCAA win over Dayton

The Arizona Wildcats survived a second-round NCAA Tournament game against Dayton on Saturday, winning 78-68, even though:

• It was NOT a Kylan Boswell game
• A versatile big man gave Arizona fits, like we have seen in other tourney losses for the Wildcats
• Caleb Love went cold in the second half.

Love ended up scoring a team-high 19 points but shot just 1 of 8 from the field after halftime, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range.

The Flyers’ DaRon Holmes II, an athletic inside-outside big man, was too difficult of a matchup for Oumar Ballo on defense, which meant Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd had to go to Plan B — a small second-half lineup that featured power forward Keshad Johnson in the middle. It worked.

But it was the other Plan B that made the difference against Dayton.

How nice is it that Lloyd can do to Jaden Bradley off the bench when Boswell is in one of his ineffective funks at point guard?

Bradley was the X-factor, scoring 12 points with four rebounds, three blocks, three steals, two assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes.

“My teammates trusted in me and we’re just playing Arizona basketball,” Bradley said right after the game.

And Lloyd trusted him, too.

Let’s talk about those minutes for Bradley.

Regular-season coaching is different than one-and-done coaching. Regular-season coaching is about creating and maintaining chemistry, fostering confidence, managing egos. Lloyd has stuck with Boswell through the sophomore’s up-and-downs because he was trying to get Boswell to be at his best in March.

I have no problem with this at all, even though plenty of fans were calling for Bradley to start.

But there were no complaints when Boswell was feeling it in the NCAA Tournament first-round win over Long Beach State, scoring 20 points and making four 3-pointers. But against Dayton, he managed just two points and missed all three shots from the field.

Enter Bradley for the Wildcats

“JB played amazing today and really did a great job controlling the game,” Lloyd said.

There were only two games before Saturday’s when Lloyd gave more playing time to Bradley than Boswell – Belmont and the Washington State game on Jan. 13. On both occasions, Bradley played just two more minutes than Boswell.

Bradley was plus-9 in minutes over Boswell on Saturday.

Let me digress: As a Boston Red Sox fan, I’m well aware of the phenomenon that was known as “Playoff Tito.” Manager Terry “Tito” Francona was all about trusting his players, managing those egos, playing the long game during the regular season. In the postseason, he was a killer, making the kind of aggressive, go-for-it moves that resulted in two oh-so-wonderful World Series titles.

I’m hoping we’re seeing “Postseason Tommy.”

Do whatever it takes. No need to change the starting lineup. Roll with the flow of the game – if that means more Bradley than Boswell, than do it. Just like Lloyd did Saturday.

“I kind of ended up with a lineup out there that was doing well, and sometimes you ride that,” Lloyd said. “I thought JB was doing a really good job against that pressure up top of handling it, not panicking.

“I was just proud of the way JB responded. Kylan was awesome on Thursday, and when you have a great team, it’s different guys’ nights on different nights. … And Kylan was great in the locker room, so no concerns for me.”

Bradley scored nine of his points in the second half, including a key, fantastic spinning layup to put the Wildcats up 68-57 with 3:55 to go, ending a 6-0 run for the Flyers.

And for those still thinking Bradley should have been stealing more minutes during the season …

“When you’re on an elite team, guys have to make sacrifices and that’s the only way it works,” Lloyd said. “And JB’s character is so high. He’s an absolute winner.

“I mean, I told him after the game, I appreciate him hanging with it and I appreciate him hanging with me. He’s going to be an elite player. He’s going to end up being one of the Arizona greats at the end of the day. Him accepting that role this year has allowed us to be the team we are today. So I’m really thankful for that.”

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Recruiting news: WATCH: Is Joson Sanon an immediate starter for the Arizona Wildcats?

Top photo: Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) dribbles against Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks during the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Gabriel Mayberry-USA TODAY Sports)