SEATTLE — The first ever NCAA Tournament meeting of Oregon and Arizona supplied the latest highly competitive installment of the rivalry.
Will the former Pac-12 foes rekindle a regular season series? Both sides appear open to the possibility.
“I would like to play,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I don’t know what their schedule looks like in future years, but we would definitely like to play. We would like to keep it going. We’ve got all kinds of openings on our schedule. We would like to stay West as much as possible. They have probably the same feeling since they travel a lot now with their new league.
“So hopefully, we can play some time, but it has been a great series. Sean (Miller) did a heck of a job for a long time and now Tommy (Lloyd)’s doing a great job. So it’s been a good series and we would sure like to continue it.”
Oregon is 15-13 against Arizona in 15 seasons under Altman, but is 2-5 against Lloyd after falling 87-83 in Sunday’s second round NCAA Tournament game.
RELATED: Oregon shoots season-low at free throw line in NCAA Tournament loss to Caleb Love, Arizona
Oregon played Oregon State in Corvallis this season in the first of a four-game series the in-state rivals signed last year. The Ducks also played Stanford in San Jose this season.
But Arizona was among the six former Pac-12 schools that did not also go to the Big Ten that Oregon did not play this season. The Wildcats played only UCLA among former Pac-12 teams that didn’t also go to the Big 12.
“Right when (conference realignment) happened we might have had an initial conversation (with Oregon), but the UCLA-Arizona thing is easy,” Lloyd said. “It’s something that — especially with Arizona State being in our conference. I mean, UCLA was such a rival down there for so many years, that it was an easy home-and-home to jump on right away, and it made a lot of sense.
“Then I think Dana and I and all the other coaches that are involved in this conference probably took a step back and are trying to figure out what is the proper way to schedule with regards to your new conference because you don’t want to over schedule, you don’t want to under schedule. I’m sure those conversations will spark back up.”
