When Wichita State popped up in the NCAA tournament’s South Region bracket this week, the coincidence was not lost on UA coach Sean Miller.
All season long, Miller has been comparing his grizzled NCAA Tournament veterans, Gabe York and Kaleb Tarczewski, to the Shockers’ Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.
It’s an easy comparison to make.
Each pair entered the week having played in a combined 20 NCAA tournament games, with VanVleet and Baker having helped the Shockers reach the Final Four in 2013, get a No. 1 seed in 2014 and reach the Sweet 16 last season.
Tarczewski and York helped Arizona reach a Sweet 16 in 2013, get a No. 1 seed in 2014 and reach a second straight Elite Eight last season. Thursday, they’ll open NCAA Tournament play against — of course — Wichita State.
“I’ve used them as an example throughout the year because of Baker and VanVleet’s track record, and the success they’ve had,” Miller said. “With Gabe and Kaleb, you can make the same case for them.
“Back-to-back they have a lot of NCAA Tournament experience, and of course that’s something we hope is to our advantage.”
Miller says he expects to rely on York and Tarczewski in the tournament this time, and even senior transfer Ryan Anderson — one of the Wildcats’ key leaders — is all ears.
“More than anything, we look to Kaleb and Gabe to show us what we have to do this time of year,” Anderson said.
York and Tarczewski really don’t have to say much at all about their approach to the postseason.
The Wildcats have already been living it.
Consistency in the day-to-day approach has become a mantra in the Miller era, with a November game against Bradley demanding the same approach as an early March showdown at Utah.
That approach has been reflected annually in the Wildcats’ record, too, with UA rarely suffering bad losses but also — at least this season — lacking the big upset. Though in 2013-14 and 2014-15, the Wildcats were so good that big upsets weren’t possible.
Not too high. Not too low. The even-keeled approach is also reflected in Miller’s entire NCAA Tournament history as a head coach. Only once, at Xavier or Arizona, has he lost an NCAA tournament game as the better seed — in 2014, when his top-seeded Wildcats lost to No. 2 Wisconsin in the West Regional final.
So you could say, in a sense, this week is just like any other week, in the life of a Wildcat.
“I don’t really change anything,” York said. “I just try to approach every game the same exact same way.”
There’s only one different thing now, a sense of finality, the ultimate do-or-die for York and Tarczewski.
Just like Wichita State’s seniors, York and Tarczewski are facing their final go-round in the NCAA Tournament field.
How far they get above those 20 combined NCAA Tournament games will depend a lot on how much they produce.
“I’ve gotta approach every game like it’s my last, which it is” in the postseason, York said. “I’ve gotta dig deep.”
