Hansen: The 16 sweetest, sourest snapshots from Arizona's Sweet 16 history
Greg Hansen, Arizona's premier sports storyteller, dips into his bag of memories and delivers the 16 most indelible for us as we wait for the tip between Arizona and San Diego State.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The most accurate judge of a team’s staying power at the Sweet 16 is that it played those games in arenas that no longer exi…
Before the 1994 Sweet 16 at the Sports Arena, Lute Olson and Louisville coach Denny Crum met outside of media headquarters.
At the 1991 Sweet 16 in Seattle’s Kingdome, Arizona trailed Seton Hall by a point with 45 seconds remaining. The Wildcats had the ball. It was…
In its historic first Sweet 16 game, 1976 at Pauley Pavilion, Arizona faced a 29-1 UNLV team that was averaging 110 points a game. Yes, 110 po…
Not all Sweet 16’s turn out well. In 2009 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, 12th-seeded Arizona saw the clock strike midnight. Not only di…
The most clutch shot in any of Arizona’s Sweet 16s was delivered by Salim Stoudamire in a classic 2005 game against No. 2 seed Oklahoma State …
In its first Battle in Seattle, the 1988 Sweet 16, top-seeded Arizona was matched against Olson’s old school, Iowa. The Hawkeyes stayed close,…
Playing in San Jose in 2002, Arizona shot itself out of the game, losing 88-67 to No. 2 seed Oklahoma. The Sooners’ star guard, Hollis Price, …
Arizona didn’t seem to have much of a chance against top-seeded Duke at the 2011 Sweet 16 in Anaheim. The Dookies had won 30 games, and Arizon…
One of Arizona’s oft-forgotten Sweet 16 victories was its 87-79 victory over Maryland in 1998. Forgotten? It was two days before the heavily f…
Nominations are now open for the most heartbreaking loss in UA history. The 1989 Sweet 16 loss to UNLV is usually a runaway winner in heartbre…
Sweet home, Alabama, Sweet 16. In 1997, the 34-1 Kansas Jayhawks were double-digit favorites to beat the 21-9 Wildcats. But on an 11-0 run lat…
In last year’s Sweet 16 at Staples Center, Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross broke open with three seconds left in a game tied at 70. UA freshman fo…
In the 2003 Sweet 16 at the Anaheim Pond, Arizona was a top seed, 27-3 overall, a big favorite over Notre Dame. The Wildcats didn’t mess aroun…
Ole Miss arrived for the 2001 Sweet 16 in San Antonio with a reputation as a nasty defensive stopper. And it was. The Rebels led 24-23 at half…
It is perfect timing, a reunion of sorts, that the Wildcats and Aztecs meet tonight at the Honda Center. They were on the same court at the 20…
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Arizona is in the Sweet 16 for the 16th time. Sweet!
