Restored to a four-star shine in 2002, Spokane’s Historic Davenport Hotel bills itself as a “beacon of culture and refinement” complete with hand-painted frescos, ornate woodwork and marble.
That’s nice and all. But for the Arizona Wildcats, the 103-year-old landmark is a place to eat, sleep, meet … and never lose games. A lucky charm, of sorts.
The Wildcats have stayed 90 minutes away in Spokane ever since UA coach Sean Miller canned the idea of sleeping near remote Pullman, Washington, after losing to Washington State there in 2010.
UA is 6-0 the day after staying at Davenport — the Wildcats won five straight at Washington State and their upset Gonzaga 68-63 in Spokane last year.
“The goal is to get us to seven,” says UA assistant coach Book Richardson, who annually scouts the Cougars.
Richardson is chuckling over this because, of course, any connection between lodging and winning is a stretch. Especially for a coaching staff that’s not overly superstitious.
“That’s just how we’ve chosen to do it,” UA coach Sean Miller says. “There’s nothing magical as much as our teams have really been focused on this trip. I hope the same holds true this year.”
While the Cougars gave UA a tougher-than-the-score-indicated time of it during the Wildcats’ 79-62 win three weeks ago at McKale Center — and WSU is playing the kind of zone defense that can drive the Wildcats nuts — Arizona has proven it knows how to make this game work.
Here’s how the Wildcats handle the Pac-12’s most logistically challenging road game:
