By
Hillary Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Some students fanatic, others apathetic
Don't even think Matt Bassin will be anywhere but plunked in front of a television when the Arizona Wildcats tip off against Ole Miss tonight.
He, like many University of Arizona students, will be supporting the Wildcats as they play in the Midwest Regional quarterfinals of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
"Oh, hell yeah - are you kidding me?" asks Bassin, an undeclared freshman.
Bassin - who will be "chillin'" in his dorm room when the No. 2 Wildcats play the No. 3 Rebels at 5:55 p.m. Tucson time in San Antonio - has followed the series closely.
"Brackets, and more brackets," he says. "I've picked them most so far.
"I think they're going to beat Illinois and go to the Final Four."
Perhaps this insight would be helpful to Aaron Bilgrad, a marketing and entrepreneurship junior and "huge" Wildcats fan who has $5 on the line in his friends' betting pool.
"I think they're very good," says Bilgrad, who has tickets to the Final Four game in Minneapolis, while wiping his face after shooting hoops in UA's Bear Down Gym. "They're the best, well-rounded team."
Bilgrad, who will join a gathering at a friend's house to watch the game, says the Wildcats should be fine as long as they play a spirited game.
"The Wildcats can lose easily if they don't play with any heart," he says.
This heart could be part of what aided the team as it followed up a shaky 7-4 season beginning with its ongoing season-high eight-game winning streak.
Arizona has defeated its previous two opponents by comfortable margins - Eastern Illinois 101-76 on March 9 and Butler 73-52 last weekend.
If Arizona beats Mississippi, a trip to the Elite Eight round against the winner of the Illinois-Kansas game would be in order, possibly followed by a spot in the Final Four semi-finals, and then - the championship game.
In 1997, the Wildcats brought home a national championship after beating the Kentucky Wildcats 84-79 in overtime, much to the approval of rioting fans in Tucson.
Physiology senior Brandi Drew says she is confident Arizona can repeat this victory, as long as players keep up their defensive skills.
"The first half will be close like it always is with U of A, but the second half U of A will come out and just take over," says Drew, who will also stay at home to watch the game.
"I'm excited and hope they go all the way," she adds.
However, not all UA students are as enthused about the Wildcats' first entry into the Sweet 16 since 1998.
"I like ASU," says a cool Charles Amerise, a history senior. "I don't really care."
His companion, 1996 UA graduate Mike Ferlazzo, showed similar interest but conceded that Arizona should prevail, if for nothing else but school spirit.
"I definitely think the U of A should win," he says. "(But) I'll probably be watching a baseball game."
