Notebook: In NCAA Tournament, Wildcats are at home for neutral-site game

It’s a home game. Except that it’s not.

Arizona hosted the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in a game that was technically an NCAA event — and not a UA production.

And while the Wildcats were able to play on their home court and dress in their home locker room, McKale Center is technically being treated as a neutral site. That means the UA can’t put up extra shots in the gym after practice or hit the weight room for a few extra reps.

And they can’t just walk into the arena without getting stopped.

“We had to go through security just to get into McKale, so it’s kind of odd,” guard Shaina Pellington said.

To help the Wildcats stay in the right frame of mind, UA coach Adia Barnes opted to stay in a hotel this weekend.

The Wildcats ate meals together and had a curfew in a basketball-centered environment. There was no going to home to hang out with their friends, girlfriends or boyfriends — and certainly, no taking their dogs for walks.

There are perks, of course. Friday night’s meal consisted of shrimp cocktail and filet mignon from Sullivan’s Steakhouse. The Wildcats watched some NCAA games on their phones during dinner.

Saturday was similar to a typical game day. The team ate from an omelet bar for breakfast and took part in a shootaround at midday before returning to the hotel for a little rest.

Barnes, a mother to 6-year-old Matteo, and 17-month-old Capri, had the juggle her schedule more than usual. Family in and babysitters have been helping out.

“I went to go see Capri in the morning and she sat and hugged me for like seven minutes — and she never does that,” Barnes said. “I think she just misses me. I really haven’t seen her. The last week-and-a-half, I was recruiting every off day. I literally hadn’t seen her but one day in seven days because I left early, and she’d be sleeping. And I came back late, and she was sleeping. I think she just misses mommy.”

3 = $10

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is donating $10 for every 3-pointers made during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, with the money raise going to humanitarian efforts for the people of Ukraine.

Around 26 years ago, VanDerveer and Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner spent time in Kyiv with USA Basketball.

“When our team was in Ukraine, we played the Ukraine National Team at least 10 times. I would call them our cousins, because we saw them in so many tournaments and played against them” VanDerveer said. “Maybe I have an affinity for the country and watching what is happening to them is really very hard. When our team was leaving Ukraine women at 3:30 in the morning were begging outside of our bus. Our team emptied their suitcases, emptied their wallets – were very generous. I hope that (in) our NCAA, people can make a lot of 3s and I can be very generous.”

VanDerveer also challenged other coaches and fans to join in.

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, never one to back down from a challenge, is donating money for every rebound made to inner city youth programs.

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In the first day of the tournament, plus the First Four games, the total of 3-pointers made was 257.

It wasn’t the 3s or the rebounds that made all the noise during the Cardinal’s first win of the tournament, 78-37 over Montana State.

Instead, it was a big-time dunk from junior forward Fran Belibi.

“My teammates have been getting on me because I haven’t dunked this year,” Belibi said. “I saw the opportunity and decided I might as well try. We have a full house, here in Maples (Pavilion). It was my first time playing a Tournament game and my first time dunking here in Maples, so I figured I might as well try it out.

It’s been nine years since a player — Brittney Griner — dunked in an NCAA Tournament game. Candace Parker is the only other player to dunk during the tournament — exactly 16 years ago to the day on Saturday.

More on Ukraine

Barnes played basketball in Kyiv in 2000. When she was there, the city had just opened up to Americans. She saw things that many people have never seen. Her memories of her time in the city made a lasting impression.

Barnes recalled that she couldn’t visit some of her teammates who lived in neighboring cities.

“I couldn’t go visit them because they were closed cities,” Barnes said. “I thought that was weird. I was like, ‘What do you mean you can’t go?’ Well, you have to show identification going in that city because of all the Chernobyl stuff. I thought that was weird. Like, what do you mean closed cities? I’d never heard of it, because there’s no city in America that is closed. As an American, I couldn’t go to their house.”

The 1986 nuclear accident in a power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. The after-effects on the Ukrainian people could be seen nearly two decades later.

Barnes said it was hard to explain, but that many Ukrainians had generational physical issues.

Barnes said she was fortunate to experience Kyiv, which she called a “beautiful, undiscovered city.”

“There were no tourists, and I went to sites, and no one had really been there because it was closed for so long,” Barnes said. “I remember thinking it’s an undiscovered city and the people were very warm. The people were nice and sweet. I enjoyed it. The people were very, very good to me.”

Rim shots

Barnes made a video with the Tucson Police Department and Mayor Regina Romero asking fans to celebrate responsibility.

In Cate Reese’s video introduction for her NIL deal for Newegg, the interviewer asked if anyone had ever called her “WildCate.” The answer was no, though the nickname has caught on. Reese’s mom, friends and some fans wore T-shirts to Saturday’s game with “WildCate” on the front and “Reese 25” on the back.