Arizona’s Trey Townsend dunks during the second half of a game against the Akron Zips in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The Wildcats went on to win and face Oregon Sunday. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE – “I got C-Love at one, I got KJ at two, I got me at three.”
In the locker room at Climate Pledge Arena Saturday, Arizona freshman forward Carter Bryant announces his rankings to the media: a list of the Wildcats’ best players at … UNO?
For the University of Arizona, constant high expectations in March mean no messing around come tournament time. In 2025, however, some off-the-court bonding could be the difference-maker for the Wildcats to return to the Final Four.
Arizona is prepared for a second-round matchup Sunday against the University of Oregon after an all-around dominating win over Akron University 93-65. Five different Wildcats scored double-digits in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game, making the 93-point outing the program’s highest-scoring tournament game since 2017.
Twenty-one assists Friday put Arizona at 12 games with 20-plus team assists on the season, suggesting a sense of togetherness on and off the court.
“I think we have a group of guys that like to play around, we like to mess around,” Bryant said. “If you say anything to anybody, nobody is going to take it personally. It’s more of a thing of we’re just trying to get better and better each other.”
Jokes are a mainstay in the Arizona locker room, and the Wildcats aren’t afraid to display the humor in interviews either. Exhibit A: Sophomore guard KJ Lewis calling out fifth-year forward Trey Townsend for his “old age.”
“Definitely Trey’s putback dunk,” Lewis said about his favorite dunk from the Akron victory. “He’s Unc (Uncle), so it was surprising.”
Ageism aside, Townsend’s experience is an asset for Arizona. He is no stranger to March, knocking off three-seed Kentucky last season with Oakland University in one of the bigger upsets in recent years.
“I think the biggest thing going against (Akron) was knowing what a lower-seeded team is thinking going into playing a high seed,” Townsend said. “Everyone in this tournament thinks they can beat anyone. Everyone is here to win and here to play.”
Fellow fifth-year player Caleb Love not only brings tournament experience from his time at North Carolina but also fresh memories from Pac-12 battles against Oregon.
Love posted his career high in points (36) against the Ducks in the regular season last year. Oregon would return the favor in the Pac-12 tournament, knocking off Arizona in the semifinals.
“They are well-coached,” Love said. “We know they have a great team, they have great history in that program. I think they are well-rounded with the guys that they have, they play their roles really well.”
After practice Saturday, strategy and playing their cards right were at the top of the Wildcats’ minds. But it wasn’t via a game plan for Oregon, it was for the card game “UNO.”
“On the iPhone, iMessage games, (we play) “UNO” or “Crazy Eights,” Lewis said. “Road trips got long in the beginning of the season, and conference play, we were out of town for a week. We were trying to figure out anything to buy some time. And UNO popped up.”
A time-killer on road trips quickly turned into a competition, with leaderboards and a lot of smack talk to go along with it.
This in-team competition ignited some friendly fire among the team. This competitive fire was the origin of the nickname “Gritty Boyz,” which you can find on team t-shirts and the team’s YouTube videos.
“We keep track of weeks, so whoever has the most series (wins) in the week, wins the week. Literally before we got to practice, we were playing UNO,” Lewis said. “(Carter Bryant) gave two games away. That’s rough, that’s why he is at the bottom of the list for me. You can’t give games away.”
Lewis’ comments in the locker room spiraled into arguments and laughter among the teammates as Arizona looks to be the “winner of the week” in Seattle. Tip-off between the Wildcats and Ducks is set for 6:40 p.m..
“I think we have a group of guys that truly trust and love each other,” Bryant said. “I think that’s an advantage we have over a lot of teams. At the end of the day, basketball is a game of who is the tightest group.”