“We look forward to immersing ourselves in the Lithuanian culture, with the added bonus of being able to play a couple exhibition games against some great competition.”
The Wildcats are scheduled to split time between Kaunas, the country’s second-biggest city, and the beach resort town of Palanga while making some off-court stops around the country as they did in 2023 during an exhibition trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
NCAA rules used to allow teams to take a foreign exhibition trip once every four years, but the rule was changed this spring to allow trips every year. Their primary benefit for many teams is the 10 full practices that are allowed beforehand, though the Wildcats are expected to face significant competition on this trip.
In addition, the trip will likely serve to strengthen the connections between Lloyd’s staff and top basketball officials in the country. Among other ties, Lloyd coached Lithuanian-American forward Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings when both were at Gonzaga.
Michigan will also be taking an August trip that includes a game against the Lithuanian senior team, somewhat operating a parallel trip to Arizona as Kansas State did with the Wildcats in 2023, though the Wildcats are not scheduled to see nor play the Wolverines.
Lithuanian basketball president Mindaugas Balčiūnas called it a “historic moment for Lithuanian basketball,” while Lithuanian national team coach Rimas Kurtinaitis cited the chance to play against the strongest college teams in the world. Michigan and Arizona faced each other in the Final Four last month.
“Today’s NCAA basketball is a competition of the most talented basketball players on the planet,” Kurtinaitis said. “We are looking forward to this opportunity, and I have no doubt that it will be a great experience for both the Lithuanian team and the Michigan and Arizona teams.”
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe