Adia Barnes has Arizona in right spot: Cats with at least 1 NCAA Tournament win four straight years

STORRS, Conn. — When Adia Barnes had the chance to take over the women’s basketball program at her alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats were at rock bottom — both in the Pac-12 and nationally.

Multiple people close to Barnes, a top assistant at Washington at the time, told her she shouldn’t take the job in April of 2016. They said the UA program wouldn’t be invested in or given the resources to succeed.

But Barnes knew she could do something special in Tucson — so much so she didn’t listen to the naysayers, some of whom were mentors; she signed on to turn it around.

Eight years in, Barnes and the Wildcats are still on a roll.

Not only has Arizona played in an NCAA national championship game that it came oh-so-close to winning, but Barnes’ Wildcats have won at least one NCAA Tournament game in four consecutive seasons — that coming after a 15-year drought of not making the dance.

This year’s win came Thursday night when Barnes’ squad dismissed Auburn 69-59 in the First Four play-in game, giving the Wildcats the opportunity to face yet another team that spent time this season ranked among the nation’s Top 25 teams.

“It means a lot because there is no doubt we should be here,” Barnes said after the win. “We should have been seeded a bit better, but that’s just what I think.

On Saturday, No. 11 seed Arizona (18-15) takes on sixth-seeded Syracuse (23-7) at approximately 12:30 p.m. in the official first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in Storrs, Connecticut. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and locally on 1400-AM with Derrick Palmer on the radio call.

Barnes-coached teams are now 8-3 in NCAA play; counting all postseason play — that includes the 2019 WNIT — the Wildcats are 14-3 in five appearances under Barnes. (2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled because of COVID-19, yet Arizona was in the final Top 16 reveal as a likely host school).

That 8-3 NCAA mark includes a Final Four, national-semifinal victory in 2021 over national power UConn; this time, the victor of Saturday afternoon’s matchup with Syracuse, again on UConn’s home court, will likely face the third-seeded Huskies (barring a huge upset) Monday night, also at Gampel Pavilion. UConn meets No. 14 seed Jackson State at 10 a.m. Saturday in the day’s first game.

Barnes also collected career win No. 150 on Thursday night. She is the second-winningest coach in UA history, trailing only Joan Bonvicini, who coached Barnes at the UA. Bonvicini won 287 games at Arizona over 17 seasons.

The last time the Wildcats appeared in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, Bonvicini was at the helm. Barnes always credits Bonvicini as the one who believed in her, gave her confidence in herself as a player and had a plan for her. She also said recently that the system she now employs is based off the scheme Bonvicini used when Barnes played.

Starting when Barnes was a junior, the Wildcats went to four straight NCAAs from 1997-2000. The Sweet 16 trip in 1998 was the furthest UA ever went until the 2021 runner-up finish. Bonvicini also took the Wildcats three more times from 2003-05.

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No one, not even Barnes, expected that this year’s squad would be playing in this game just six weeks ago. Since going down to only seven rotation players (plus one walk-on), the Wildcats have been on a tear. They’ve gone 6-3 in their last nine games. They’ve defeated then-No. 3 Stanford; they beat Washington twice (once in three overtimes and once in the Pac-12 Tournament; they played No. 3 USC tight in two games in a span of a week, losing by a total of only five points; and they controlled Thursday’s First Four game against Auburn from start to finish, leading by 10 at the half and by as many as 17 during the third quarter.

“I don’t think any of us knew we would be in the NCAA Tournament six weeks ago,” she said. “A lot was changing. (We) lost half of our scoring this year, and we found (a) way to rally. We have the right eight. They’re relentless. Tough. They don’t care who we play at any time.

“We play against good teams every single weekend, so we’re definitely prepared,” she added. “I think that’s why you’ll see Pac-12 teams have success in the tournament.”

If the Wildcats, who have a chip on their shoulder and feel like ‘Why not us?’ defy the odds yet again and beat Syracuse, Barnes will have won two games in the NCAA Tournament in two different seasons. The other time came three years ago on that magical run to the title game.

For those keeping score, in 2021 the Wildcats had a similar mentality. The chip, the feeling of being underrated — like no one expects them to do anything or pays attention to them. Remember when they were left off the NCAA’s Final Four promotional video even after participating in the photo shoot?

That time the Wildcats were trying to put Arizona back on the map and get recognition. This time around, they feel like they’ve been written off and faced all kinds of adversity, as well.

That’s usually the time when special things happen. Teams pour their hearts out and play hard. Those paying attention to women’s college basketball won’t be surprised if these Wildcats are playing on Monday night against UConn.

Remember the last time Arizona played UConn in the NCAA Tournament? Special things happened that night, too.

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Photos: Arizona Wildcats defeat Auburn, 69-59, in 'First Four' of NCAA Women's Tournament