Tommy Lloyd is trying to take the pressure off of Arizona when facing the Duke basketball team in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night.

It’s the second meeting between the programs this season and the Blue Devils are the National Championship favorites as the Wildcats enter in an unfamiliar role as an underdog.

“We look forward to letting it rip tomorrow and see if we can continue to play on,” Lloyd said on Wednesday afternoon at the Prudential Center in New Jersey during his media availability.

Arizona scored a blowout victory No. 13 Akron before needing to hang on late against No. 5 Oregon, its former PAC-12 conference rival, to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats fell in the Big 12 Championship game against Houston, which capped a stretch of 5-6 basketball entering March Madness. It has been a roller coaster of a season for Arizona after starting the season 4-5, which included a loss to Duke in Tucson.

Tommy Lloyd’s team won 13-of-14 games after its rocky beginning.

“Letting it rip” might not be a bad strategy for Arizona after the way the Wildcats shot the ball during the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, connected on 24-of-45 attempts from 3-point range.

The Wildcats were 6-of-23 when matching up against Duke in November.

Former North Carolina standout, and longtime Duke rival, Caleb Love has been at the forefront of Arizona’s offensive burst with 29 points against the Ducks in the Round of 32, including five 3-pointers.

The Blue Devils cruised through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with wins over No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s and No. 9 Baylor by a combined 67 points.

Tipoff between Duke and Arizona will be approximately 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS) in Newark, New Jersey, shortly following the other East Regional matchup between No. 2 Alabama and No. 6 BYU.