Current and former Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views.
News: The UA men’s basketball team wraps up the home portion of its season with a 103-83 victory over Oregon on Saturday.
Views: Industry colleague and UA alum Jeff Goodman recently opined on social media that “McKale isn’t what it used to be. Still very good, but not top 10 or maybe even top 20 these days.”
I asked a friend of mine, a longtime season-ticket holder, about those comments. My friend agreed, at least for the most part. His main argument: The ZonaZoo isn’t as organized/focused as it once was. Kids these days, right?
Unless you base it purely on decibels, the atmosphere in an arena is impossible to quantify. But there is one number we can look at: Winning percentage.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson throws his arms in celebration after he makes a 3-point shot during the Wildcats' 103-83 victory over Oregon on Saturday.
In Tommy Lloyd’s three seasons, Arizona has lost three home games. One of them required a 60-foot miracle shot at the buzzer, another a fluky 4-point play in the final minute.
Among the bluest of bluebloods in men’s college basketball, only Kansas can match that minuscule total of three home losses. UConn has lost four times at home during that span, Duke five times, Kentucky eight times. UCLA has lost six times at home this season.
Is McKale Center what it used to be? I would argue few things in this world are.
Is it still one of the best homecourt advantages in the land? Indisputably.
Arizona forward Esmery Martinez, center, talks to her teammates as they huddle up to take the court at the start of the third quarter against UCLA on Saturday night. The Wildcats need a win or two at this week's Pac-12 Tournament to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
News: The UA women’s basketball team concludes the regular season with a 61-41 home loss to No. 8 UCLA.
Views: They would never admit it, but the Wildcats clearly had little left in the tank after enduring a two-overtime defeat to No. 7 USC two nights earlier. They registered season lows in points (41), field-goal percentage (28.3%) 3-point percentage (8.3%) and rebounds (17). They were never in it.
The emotions of Senior Night undoubtedly took a toll as well. But when you don’t have your legs under you, it’s hard to play competitive basketball (or any sport).
You could see it at the end of the USC game. UA players were reaching and fouling because they were exhausted. Rebounds were landing in the arms of the Trojans because the Wildcats were winded.
All of which is completely understandable at the end of a season in which Arizona played with seven or eight players for most of it. The program’s slogan this season is #MadeForIt. No one is made for that.
The cumulative effect was bound to catch up to the Wildcats at some point. Saturday night was that point.
Still, Arizona continues to sit on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament because its NET rating, even with those losses, remains a robust 36. It’ll probably take two wins in the Pac-12 Tournament — including an upset of No. 2 seed USC — to make it. That task is made all the more difficult by having to play on back-to-back nights.
More than anything, this team needs rest. The break between the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament or WNIT will be welcomed.
News: The UA baseball team finishes the Frisco College Baseball Classic with a 12-1 run-rule victory over No. 20 Indiana.
Views: A vocal minority on social media is convinced Chip Hale isn’t the right man for this job. That take remains premature at best.
Arizona first baseman Tommy Splaine snags a pickoff throw during the Wildcats' 4-3 loss to Dallas Baptist at the Frisco College Baseball Classic on Friday. UA (5-6) has played the 15th-toughest schedule so far this year.
First off, the Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in each of Hale’s first two seasons. You can debate the merits of last year’s selection, but it happened. It’s in the permanent record.
Second, there remains a perception that Arizona is a tournament team/Omaha threat every year. That simply is not and never has been true in the modern era. For example: The Wildcats didn’t make the NCAA Tournament in Jay Johnson’s third and fourth seasons., finishing sixth in the Pac-12 both years.
Third, this was always going to be a rebuilding year — especially with Arizona mostly striking out in the transfer portal, which had more to do with a relative lack of NIL support than Hale’s sales pitch.
How’s that rebuild going? Arizona is 5-6 against a schedule that WarrenNolan.com ranks as the 15th-most difficult in the country. The Wildcats played four ranked teams in Texas last week and went 1-3, with two of the losses by one run against clubs that were undefeated at the time.
Almost every player on the team — no exaggeration — has a new role this season. And every young player, whether it’s Mason White or Easton Breyfogle, will benefit from those experiences in the long run.
Hale deserves some grace here. Give the man some time.
News: The UA softball team ends the Crimson Classic with a 1-1 tie against South Alabama in 11 innings.
Views: There’s no crying in baseball. But there is tying in softball when you have a plane to catch.
Arizona went 1-2-1 in Tuscaloosa, with both losses coming by one run against host Alabama, including one that had a controversial ending.
The Crimson Tide are 19-1 and No. 8 in the official NCAA RPI rankings. Arizona (17-3-1) is No. 12.
South Alabama is No. 31. Arkansas, against whom Arizona split a pair of one-run games in mid-February, is No. 15.
Arizona's Aissa Silva delivers in relief in the fifth inning against Utah Tech in the opener of the Candrea Classic at Hillenbrand Stadium on Feb. 8.
Overall, the Wildcats have been ultra-competitive against good teams and have dominated the teams they’re supposed to beat. They appear to be a more well-rounded club than the one that ended the program’s 35-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances last season.
As with the baseball team, pitching was Arizona’s biggest flaw in 2023. It’s still probably too early to say whether any of Miranda Stoddard, Aissa Silva or Brooke Mannon is a legit ace. But the staff’s collective 1.72 ERA entering Tuesday’s game at Louisville is an encouraging development.
News: Four Arizona Wildcats participate in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Views: That’s probably the most significant stat to come out of the combine as it pertains to UA football. All too often in recent years, that number has been one or zero.
Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Digging through the workout figures a bit, I found Jordan Morgan’s 10-yard split of 1.70 seconds to be most noteworthy. The 10-yard split is the first 10 yards of the 40-yard dash. It’s a good measure of quickness and explosion — and way more important for an offensive lineman than the full 40.
Morgan’s 1.70 ranked fifth among all OL participants at this year’s combine and third among tackles. Anyone who’s seen him flare out to block on a bubble screen shouldn’t be surprised by that.
This is an extremely deep offensive line class, and the rule of supply and demand could push Morgan out of the first round and into the second. But that’s the floor for him.
I feel pretty confident that tight end Tanner McLachlan and receiver Jacob Cowing also will be drafted. Perpetually underrated Michael Wiley could fall victim to RB devaluation, but he’s worth picking late on Day 3 for his receiving ability alone.
The final four rounds of the NFL Draft take place April 27. That’s also the date of Arizona’s spring game. The UA wisely scheduled it for 6 p.m. We’ll be busy during the day for a change.
VIDEO: With an introduction from coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona men's basketball seniors Grant Weitman, Keshad Johnson, Caleb Love, Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson speak to fans in McKale Center Saturday on Senior Day following the Wildcats' win over Oregon in the final home game of the 2023-24 season. (Courtesy Arizona Athletics)
