Sean Miller faces a conundrum.
Every year he splits the Arizona men’s basketball season into three distinct groups — nonconference play, Pac-12 play and the postseason.
But in reality, the college basketball playoffs are split into two separate entities: the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament. That small distinction has worlds of implication.
With a glut at the top that features three teams ranked among the top handful in college hoops, never in recent memory has the Pac-12 Tournament offered such tangible rewards. Make it through a gauntlet that is almost sure to include No. 3 UCLA (seeded third) and No. 6 Oregon (seeded first), and No. 7 Arizona could be rewarded with a top seed.
Despite a No. 9 ranking according to RealTimeRPI.com, the Wildcats have just one significant win on the season, a 96-85 victory at UCLA on Jan. 21. Two more, and Arizona could soar, and the Wildcats know it.
“We have the best conference in America right now — UCLA, Oregon are Final Four contenders, and us — so winning the Pac-12 Conference Tournament is a huge deal with the competition we have,” Rawle Alkins said.
While Arizona has loads to gain, it’s hard to imagine there is much to lose. This is different than in the past few years, when a conference tournament loss could’ve had huge seeding implications. As of now, the Wildcats appear firmly entrenched as at least a No. 3 seed. A so-so showing could lock them in as a No. 2. A tournament title just might edge them up to a No. 1 seed.
With Gonzaga wobbling after a surprising first loss of the season to BYU and North Carolina stymied by six losses including two bad ones, there certainly is a path forward.
“Even if we weren’t playing where seeding was very important for us, we’d still go out and try to win each single game,” sophomore guard Allonzo Trier said. “It doesn’t change how we look at things.”
Added Miller: “The stakes are high every time we’re out there, for us. We’re trying to win every game. We’re trying to compete for a championship there.”
Even so, the Wildcats are smart enough to approach the two tournaments as two parts of one whole. They can’t afford to peak on Sunday only to flame out in the following week.
The conference tournament isn’t always about peaking anyway; sometimes a loss can reveal a flaw that must be corrected.
“There’s a difference,” Trier said. “Lose in the conference tournament, and you can still play. I don’t think you can compare each. You can win the Pac-12 Tournament and then go lay an egg, or you can lose in the Pac-12 Tournament and then make a run. Really you just want to be playing your best basketball at this time.”
Just two games removed from a five-point loss to UCLA, their fourth loss of the season — albeit only their second with Trier in the lineup — whether the Wildcats are playing their best basketball remains to be determined. Arizona’s rebounding woes against the Bruins are fresh in everyone’s minds.
And so is the chance to make up for it.
“We want respect, and to get respect you have to win,” Alkins said. “Hopefully we gain respect after this game, after winning the Pac-12 championship, and we gain a lot more after winning the Pac-12 Tournament.”
