The time off between the women’s basketball Power 4 league tournaments and the NCAA Selection Show feels like an eternity for every team, even though it’s only seven to 10 days.
If you are solidly in the NCAAs, it’s a waiting game to see who you are playing and, if you’re not a top 16 team, where you will be flying out to over the next few days.
If you are on the bubble in the top four conferences, it’s a little bit of wondering if you’ve done enough and even more about what the mid-majors do in their tournaments. If all doesn’t go to plan at league tournaments, these Power 4 teams might not be in such good standing to make the NCAAs.
As the song goes, the waiting is the hardest part.
Arizona forward Isis Beh (33) looks for room to put up a shot against Texas Tech guard Denae Fritz (5) in the fourth quarter of their Big 12 game in Tucson on Feb. 25, 2025.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes gave her team the week off to rest and get in the right mindset for postseason play.
“They needed it,” Barnes said. “It’s a hard time of year. Every basketball team goes through it and it’s better to give them physical and mental time off. People are banged up right now. You want to get ready to play. You want them in a good state of mind.”
Barnes isn’t the only one who gave her players time off.
Dawn Staley, coach of reigning NCAA champion South Carolina, joked that after winning the SEC Tournament, she didn’t want to see her team any more than she had to, so she let them have four days off.
Once the Wildcats get back, it’s all about focusing on certain things over the days leading up to postseason play.
Barnes wouldn’t say exactly what they’d be working on but shared that they will be refining things on defense and possibly adding something to their offensive scheme. She did say that she will be easing them back in because after taking time off her team will be a little rusty.
Typically, Barnes only gives a few days off after the league tournament. In 2021, she reluctantly gave the team more time after they asked for it. That squad used it as a reset after they didn’t finish the season the way they wanted. They came together to make that remarkable run to the NCAA title game.
This year, Barnes said she felt like the team also needed a reset.
Rumor mill swirling
The rumors have already started swirling and we aren’t even into postseason. A number of insiders had Barnes listed as the top candidate for the open Auburn job on Wednesday afternoon.
Auburn parted ways with former coach Johnnie Harris after four years at the school last week.
Arizona head coach Adia Barnes and assistant coach Salvo Coppa wave to the sea of Wildcat fans after the 71-59 point win against ASU at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, March 1, 2025.
Auburn is just one of a number of openings at this point, which is a little early in the end-of-season hiring process.
Barnes’ contract, which runs through April 30, 2026, has not been extended yet by Arizona Athletics. Her buyout, in this Year 4, is $300,000. Once the calendar turns to Year 5 — after April 30, 2025 — the buyout goes down to zero.
Barnes has received calls for opportunities each offseason for college jobs and even in-season for WNBA jobs. Every time, she has decided to stay at her alma mater.
The last time Barnes had an inkling to leave, former UA Athletic Director Dave Heeke went to donors to come up with her current 5-year deal that pays her $1.25 million this season and goes up to $1.3 million at the end of April. That was after her run to the 2021 national championship game.
In addition, with a record-breaking 6,000 season ticket holder this season, women’s basketball takes in upwards of $1.5 million in ticket sales.
It is not known what Barnes will do this offseason.
What we do know is that it is business as usual for Barnes, who was out on a recruiting trip this week.
The Star reached out to Barnes about possibly being a top candidate for the Auburn opening and didn’t hear back.
On the bubble
The Arizona women’s basketball team finds itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Wildcats have experienced this in two other seasons over Barnes’ tenure — in 2019 and last year.
Each of these years has a completely different story. However, each walked into postseason with less than 20 wins — just like this year, where the Wildcats sit at 19.
In 2019, it was Barnes’ third season at the helm and her first even sniffing at postseason. The team was led by a strong transfer class of Dominique McBryde, Tee Tee Starks and Aari McDonald.
As most remember, this team made a spectacular run in the WNIT, winning the championship and playing all six games at home in front of bigger and bigger crowds. The title game against Northwestern was played in front of a sellout at McKale Center.
Last season, down to six players — plus a walk-on in Brooklyn Rhodes — the Wildcats went on a run over the last month of the season, taking down then No. 3-Stanford at Maples Pavilion and sweeping the Bay Area schools. They were the only team that could find a way to slow down USC freshman sensation JuJu Watkins.
This time, Arizona made the NCAAs. A strong strength of schedule (No. 3 in the country), a strong NET (No. 35), two upsets (Stanford and Utah) and a few good losses helped the Wildcats over the finish line.
This year, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the NCAA Selection Committee will view the Wildcats résumé. They finished strong, winning the last four games of the regular season, beat a top-ranked team in West Virginia, held teams to 62.8 points per game and 39.7% field goal defense. They held 12 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average. Their NET ranking this season is No. 58 as of Thursday, however.
Arizona’s Jada Williams finished with 13 points and five assists against Colorado on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Should the Wildcats fail to make the NCAA Tournament — which is how Barnes is leaning — the Wildcats submitted a bid or budget for the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) on March 12. Since last season, this NCAA-sponsored event is now the secondary postseason tournament.
Barnes said that playing in the 2019 WNIT was the momentum that carried over to the 2021 NCAA Tournament run.
“We have a chance to do something special still this year with a young team, because we’ll host the first two games at home,” Barnes said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to get some wins and to build for the future for these young players.”
Barnes said that she has had a lot of support from Arizona Athletics regarding postseason play. Both Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois and the women’s basketball sports administrator, Kristen Arquilla, asked Barnes and her staff weeks ago if they wanted to host the WBIT if they didn’t earn a bid to the NCCAs. In addition, they helped them pull together the bid package.
Nearly all the costs of hosting the WBIT are covered by the NCAA. The NCAA keeps the ticket sales, but Arizona would keep money made from concessions and everything else surrounding the games.
Arizona would most likely host the WBIT if it is in it, and the first round is Thursday, March 20. The bracket will be revealed Sunday night after the NCAA Selection Show, at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The higher-seeded teams host games until the semifinals and finals, which are held at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Rim shots
— Arizona is in the top 10 for attendance again this season, drawing 117,809 total people. It’s the fifth consecutive year the Wildcats have been in the top 13 in the nation, with all but one of those years finishing in the top 10.
— Class of 2025 commit Jazzy Gipson, who made the All-Region team at Texas’ Duncanville High School, broke her right ankle and tore ligaments going for a steal in a game. She has started rehab and is on her way to a full recovery.
— Gipson’s classmate, Roxy White, who played for Example Academy, made the Darius Garland Region All-Star game.
