Editor’s note: Over the next week, the Star is using Whatifsports.com to simulate a single-elimination tournament among eight great all-time UA teams. Whatifsports.com provides a play-by-play and box score, and each matchup was simulated only once in a true win-or-go-home scenario.
The teams were seeded on how far they advanced in the NCAA Tournament. In Mondayâs opener, the No. 3-seeded Wildcats of 1988 beat the No. 6 UA team of 2014 80-63. Todayâs matchup is No. 2 2001 vs. No. 7 2005.
Todayâs game
The 2001 Arizona Wildcats have long carried the label of being one of â if not the most â talented teams to ever don a UA uniform.
That team, which lost to Duke in the 2001 national title game, lived up to that billing for much of its opening game in the simulated eight-team tournament at McKale Center against the 2005 Wildcats.
Then they almost gave it all away.
The No. 2-seeded 2001 Cats let a 13-point lead nearly slip away but held on to beat the No. 7-ranked 2005 squad 101-98 in a shootout when Salim Stoudamire missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
The win sets up a monster semifinal matchup later this week against the No. 3-seeded 1988 UA team.
Loren Woods blocked seven shots to go with 15 points as the talented 2001 Arizona team held off the 2005 Wildcats by three points in the simulation opener. The 2005 team will next play 1988 Arizona.
All 10 starters scored in double figures. Gilbert Arenas had 24 points and Michael Wright added 23 for the 2001 team, while Hassan Adams led the 2005 Wildcats with 21.
The 2001 Wildcats led 54-43 at halftime and tied their largest lead of the game at 77-64 with just under 12 minutes left. They seemed to be in cruise control on the next possession when Loren Woods swatted Channing Fryeâs shot away for his sixth block of the game, then broke out a finger wag as if to say âdonât even think about it.â
Adams quickly turned it into a game again with five points in a 9-0 run that made it 77-73 just two minutes later. With 6:44 left, Fryeâs 3-point play â he flexed his bicep at Woods on the walk to the free-throw line â cut the lead to three at 82-79.
The 2001 Cats built their lead up from there, and when Justin Wessel hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left, the lead was 100-93 and the game seemingly over.
But things got interesting in the final half-minute.
Jawann McClellan cut the lead to 100-95 on a basket with 17 seconds left, and after Wessel missed two free throws, Stoudamire drilled a 3-pointer off an assist from Mustafa Shakur to make it 100-98 with seven seconds remaining.
Hassan Adams, left, and Salim Stoudamire combined for 36 points in the simulation, but the 2005 Wildcats lost when a last-second 3 missed.
Woods made one of two free throws to leave the margin at three, but Stoudamire missed at the buzzer as 2001 Arizona let out a huge sigh of relief. No one would have been surprised if Stoudamireâs shot had fallen, as he was clutch throughout 2005, including the game-winning basket against Oklahoma State in the final seconds of the Sweet 16.
A sell-out crowd at McKale seemed awestruck pre-game as 2001 Lute Olson chatted casually with his 2005 counterpart.
The 2001 Cats, who boasted when the matchups came out that they should have an easy time because they beat Illinois in the 2001 Elite Eight, while UA let a late 15-point lead slip away against the Illini in 2005, fell behind 15-9 in the first five minutes as Ivan Radenovic hit two 3s and Stoudamire added one of his own.
Richard Jefferson later scored four straight points to give the 2001 Wildcats a 29-27 advantage. They would never trail again and used a 16-3 run to go up 39-30.
Arenas hit 8 of 11 shots in the win, including a 6-of-8 effort from 3-point range. Woods was a beast with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven of the teamâs nine blocks. The 2005 team didnât record a single block.
Adams hit 9 of 14 shots in the losing cause, while Frye collected a game-high 14 rebounds to go with 18 points and five assists. Radenovic scored 15 points, but played only 21 minutes while fouling out.
The teams lit it up from deep, going a combined 19 of 40 (47.5%).
Up next for the 2001 Wildcats is a showdown with 1988 UA in a contest that many feel will include the two most talented teams in program history. Neither team could win a national title like 1997 Arizona did though, so theyâre forced to battle in the semifinals.
