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Arizona’s Final Four Bid Came Down to One Thing: Figure It Out

SI Feed·@PatForde·7 months ago
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SAN JOSE — Tommy Lloyd has a pet acronym that he regularly uses with his Arizona basketball team: “FIO.” Figure it out.“We practice a lot of figure-it-out situations,” Lloyd said earlier this month. “And the players have got to 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.”The West Regional final Saturday night was an FIO situation of the highest order. The No. 1 seed Wildcats were being pushed into stressful territory by No. 2 Purdue—down seven at halftime, their biggest intermission deficit since Feb. 24, with a Final Four berth on the line. Arizona was struggling with a wily and determined opponent: Its defense was being sliced up by point guard Braden Smith; its starting guards were a combined 2 for 9 from the field; its height advantage had dissolved in a -5 rebound margin.…

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