Ever since the NCAA Tournament was canceled a year ago, the Arizona Wildcats have talked about getting back to the postseason — and actually playing.
Well, it’s March. The Wildcats are in. All that’s left is figuring out where they’ll end up in the bracket.
Arizona can improve its NCAA Tournament standing starting Thursday, when it takes seventh-seeded Washington State in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas. The Cougars beat the Utes on Wednesday night, 57-48.
“For us, it’s a new season,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “I don’t feel like our team ended as great as we could have with the way we played in (Sunday’s) loss at ASU. But now it’s Phase II. It’s another season. This is when it all matters. This is what you work for all year for … for these moments. I’m excited. I’m super excited.”
Arizona is ranked No. 11 nationally, and has been part of the NCAA selection committees two bracket reveals this spring. The Wildcats were the No. 7 team in the country and a No. 2 seed in the last reveal, announced Sunday. However, the bracket did not take into account that day’s overtime loss to ASU in Tempe.
Barnes said she’s more concerned about how the Wildcats play than who.
“It isn’t really about winning (Thursday). It’s the way we play, the way we react, the way we respond. And then it’s our momentum moving forward,” she said. “That’s the most important thing to me right now. … All that other stuff will take care of itself. Our seeding will be right, it will be where we are supposed to be.”
Arizona has already reached heights not seen in nearly two decades. The Wildcats finished second in the league, earning a No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, their best finish in 18 years. They won 13 conference games for the first time in 17 years.
The UA has been ranked in the AP poll since the preseason — and was in to the top 10 for 13 of 15 possible weeks.
Now, the Wildcats will turn their attention to winning a Pac-12 Tournament title.
Arizona’s Cate Reese fights with Washington State center Bella Murekatete for a rebound during their game last month. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, which began Wednesday.
Arizona has a track record of flipping the switch in the postseason.
Two years ago, the team discovered a newfound confidence and ran through six opponents to win the WNIT. Last year, the Wildcats had a bye in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time in program history. They made it to the semifinals before losing to Oregon, one of the top three teams in the nation.
The UA went 8-2 in its previous two postseasons .
This week, the Wildcats will try to improve offensively. Over the last few games, they have been shooting around 35% on what Barnes says are low-percentage shots.
Aari McDonald, who has carried her team over the last three games with 28, 20 and 30 points, has been the exception. Her shooting percentage is 45%.
They’ve also struggled with ball movement, which isn’t typically a problem.
“You have to take good shots and you have to play for each other,” Barnes said. “It’s not a selfish thing, because we are not a selfish team. It’s a wanting to do things yourself, or make something happen. But when everybody’s doing that, we’re just (dis)combobulated. So just getting back to basics. We know what to do; we have the personnel to do it.”
Barnes believes Thursday’s game can be different. She said the Wildcats had a postseason mentality in Tuesday’s practice.
“I think we’re coming into the Pac-12 more hungry and knowing we can win it,” Barnes said. “… I think that we came here with a different confidence. … I think you saw a different sense of urgency, which is good, because I hadn’t seen that in a while. That told me they’re responding.”
“We’re communicating better, playing hard, competing, it was really good, because it was hard practice.”
