SAN DIEGO -- Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said point guard Jaden Bradley has been practicing normally leading up to the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament first round game against LIU on Friday.
Bradley said he jammed his left index finger when in a collision with Houston's Emanuel Sharp during the Big 12 Tournament final last Saturday. He missed three minutes of that game and returned with a wrap around his left wrist and bandage around his left index finger.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley wore a wrap on his left wrist after getting injured in the the second half of the NCAA college championship basketball game against Houston at the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Bradley did not wear any bandages during the Wildcats' open workout at Viejas Arena on Thursday, though the Wildcats were only shooting around and left afterward for a regular practice that was closed.
Since returning from Kansas City early Sunday, the Wildcats took two days off the court and began resuming practices on Tuesday, then traveled to San Diego on Wednesday.
People are also reading…
"I haven't heard one thing about the wrist all week," Lloyd said Thursday. "So it seems to be in good shape. He's been practicing normal. Nothing on his hand. He's looked good to me."
After studying LIU during the week, Lloyd said he's found the Sharks are "scrappy" and committed to an aggressive man-to-man defense. He also called Sharks standout forward Jamal Fuller a "matchup nightmare."
" They've done a great job putting together a team that makes sense," Lloyd said. "They're really good in the gaps and really handsy.
"Offensively, their actions might not be complicated, but they have good individual players, and they put them in situations that they're comfortable in.
"We know we're going to have to accommodate for that, and we're going to have to have a game plan heading into the game."
We have more about the Sharks from UA assistant coach Ken Nakagawa, and other notes, in our scouting report.Â
Even though Arizona will be relying heavily on four freshmen in the NCAA Tournament, Lloyd said he hadn't sensed that they didn't know what this is about.
Two of them, Koa Peat (Arizona) and Brayden Burries (California) won high school state championships last year while another, Ivan Kharchenkov played in Germany's top pro league.Â
"I told our freshmen, hey, you guys won a state championship? Then let's go win another state championship," Lloyd said. "And the way you win a state championship is game by game. This just happens to have the word 'national' in front of it. But it's no different approach."
