By Steve Rivera, Special to SI.com
It didn't go undefeated in the regular season or in conference play, but Arizona feels it is in a good place heading into this weekend's Pac-10 conference tournament.
And why not?
UA is playing some of its best basketball of the season at the most important part of the year, winning nine straight and 20 of 21.
Some even think the conference tournament championship should already be handed to the Wildcats, and by the tone of some of the players, they feel it'll be tough to deny them their second consecutive conference tournament title.
"Our mental part is good," said senior guard Jason Gardner. "The guys know it's the Pac-10 and the NCAAs left. They know it's one and done in both. We got our first goal [regular-season title] and now [they'll] try for the second goal."
Arizona (25-2) has gone from the highest of highs (beating Kansas in Kansas in a 91-74 victory) to the lowest of lows (losing to Stanford 82-77 at home). But it's been a great ride as it's been the No. 1 team for a school-record 13 weeks.
"It went by like a blur," said Arizona center Channing Frye. "Each game has been such a challenge. I've learned so much about myself mentally and physically. But if you look at this team and look at the stats, each person did something to help us win. And that's what good teams do."
Now it must prove everything all over again in a place where it truly doesn't want to be -- in Los Angeles at the conference tournament. Arizona coach Lute Olson has long denounced the tournament as being an unnecessary burden to place on student-athletes after a tough 18-game schedule.
"We'll be there because it's the vote of the conference and we'll try to win it as we did last year," said Olson, whose teams have won five of the past six conference tournaments.
"This is the fifth time in the tournament where we could play a potential 21 [league] games. That's too many. It's taking guys out of class. I personally think that from an academic standpoint we're talking out of both sides of our mouth. We're being told as coaches that we have to limit the number of days that they're going to miss, and out of the other side of the mouth comes, 'OK, we're going to have this tournament and you're going to miss two or three days of school.' Stop saying that we want to limit the number of days because, frankly, the contract money-wise looked like a good deal. I think we're being hypocritical to make them miss school for no reason."
And once again, Stanford is the only other school to agree with Olson.
Stanford is the second seed in the tournament.
"My opinion's still the same," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery told reporters this week. "It makes no difference. My opinion doesn't mean squat. We're going to go down and try to win this tournament. As time goes on, you just keep your mouth shut and go about your business."
 |
|---|
|
All it took was consistency and patience for Oregon State sophomore David Lucas to get in the starting lineup as the season comes to an end.
Lucas, a 6-foot-7 forward and son of former NBA standout Maurice Lucas, is averaging 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and has started the past two games. He's also hitting 51.6 percent of his shots.
"It's taken a lot of hard work to get there," he said. "I've been working hard all year, so it's time to step it up. A lot of things come with starting, because now the players are depending on me more. Now, I got to perform."
If anything else, he's set the stage for a nice future. Last season he played a total of 32 minutes. Over the past 17 games, he's played 268 minutes.
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
HOT: UCLA guard Ray Young
He's started the last six games at point guard, averaging 19.9 points, and shooting 33 for 64 from the floor.
NOT: Oregon
The Ducks have lost two straight and five of their last 10, keeping them on the NCAA tournament bubble.
HOT: UCLA
The Bruins have won three of four and two in a row. The two straight victories are a first since the beginning of January.
NOT: Washington
State
The Cougars, the annual doormat of the conference, finished at the bottom of the conference race for the fourth time in five years.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Over the past couple of months, Arizona sophomore guard Salim Stoudamire has been his own worst enemy.
Last week, he fumed internally after missing his first four shots against Oregon State then continued to show poor behavior after Lute Olson and assistant Rodney Tention got on him for his attitude and performance.
Not liking what they saw from Stoudamire, they benched him for the remainder of the game.
Stoudamire continued to fume, sulking on the sideline because he wasn't playing. It was the third time UA coaches have gotten on him for his attitude.
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
 Arizona senior Jason Gardner
He scored a season-high 27 points in Arizona's 88-80 win over Oregon in
McKale Center in his final home appearance of his career.
Arizona State senior Curtis Millage
He scored 27 points in a 91-77 rout of Oregon to help clinch fourth place in the conference race. The Ducks finished fifth.
UCLA sophomore Dijon Thompson
He scored 26 points in a 83-72 win over Washington to help UCLA clinch the eighth spot in the Pac-10 tournament.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Arizona State vs. Oregon, Thursday at Staples Center: This may be the only game the NCAA tournament selection committee has its eye on. It would appear the Sun Devils are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995 after beating Oregon last week in Tempe to finish fourth in the league race. Despite winning 20 games for the second consecutive season, Oregon is still wondering if it's in and no longer on the NCAA tournament fence. A problem for the Ducks is that they've gone 5-5 over the past 10 games, one of a few measuring sticks the selection committee uses to determine who's in and who's not.
/font> |
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Arizona State senior forward Tommy Smith has scored 1,090 points in his career, good enough for 23rd in school history. ... California's 13-5 record ties its best mark all-time. It also finished 13-5 in 1994 behind guard Jason Kidd. ... UCLA senior forward Jason Kapono has a school-record 313 career 3-pointers. It ranks second
all-time in the Pac-10. ... USC guard Desmon Farmer, upset that he was slighted in the annual conference awards, needs just four points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. ... Arizona senior guard Jason Gardner is 15 points shy of the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time scoring list. He has 1,910 points. Khalid Reeves is next with 1,925. ... When UCLA loses its final game of the season it'll likely be Steve Lavin 's final game as UCLA's coach. He's been under fire all season as UCLA has suffered through its worst season since 1940-41. ... USC reports that guard Errick Craven and Gregg Guenther have sore backs and Nick Curtis is suffering from a sore heel. They are all expected to play in the tournament. Washington State is looking for its third coach in the last eight years and could be looking for a star point guard. Word is junior Marcus Moore is ready to declare himself eligible for this summer's NBA draft. ... Oregon State senior forward Philip Ricci leads the conference in rebounding at 8.3 per game. If he finishes the season on top of the category, he'll be the first OSU player since A.C. Green to do so.
|
|
|
