Jeff Lund sports editor

I have always loved UA hoops. When I was in middle school, my family spent spring break in Phoenix, and I made my mom drive me down to Tucson so I could see the University of Arizona öö specifically McKale Center. I walked in there and fell in love. I knew then I wanted to be a Wildcat.

My mom and I spent a good four hours on the road between Phoenix and Tucson that day, and only two or so hours in the Old Pueblo itself.

After cheering on the team in 1997 from my igloo back in Alaska, four years ago, I finally got to see my first live Arizona game.

It's corny, I know, but the first time I walked iton McKale Center for a basketball game might be my most memorable moment at UA.

Taking my seat for my first UA game was something I will never forget. I had waited so long to see a game, and I was now seeing my first as a Wildcat freshman.

As far as most exciting, it was later that year when Arizona beat Stanford and the students rushed the floor. I remember everyone counting the seconds and filling the aisles waiting to celebrate ÷ then finally sprinting out on the floor and jumping around like mad men and women.

After about five minutes, we all got that "Ok, now what?" look. That moment too is something that sticks out more than anything during my college life.

Maxx Wolfson senior sports writer

Walking down State Street in Madison, Wis., with 16 UA fans clad in red and blue chanting "Bear Down Arizona" comes in a close second to the greatest game I personally witnessed in my time at Arizona.

It was the Gonzaga-Arizona game during the second-round of the 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Salt Lake City.

I have never seen two teams play with such resolve and heart. Every loose ball, every rebound, every shot was a struggle to see who would advance to the next round.

"One second, you're on top of the world; the next second you feel like crap," said Arizona sophomore Salim Stoudamire about the flow of the game.

Luke Walton, fighting the flu for three days prior to the game, played a career-high 45 minutes in the overtime thriller. He was barely able to move after the game after leaving every ounce of energy he had on the court.

If it weren't for a missed shot by Gonzaga guard Blake Stepp at the buzzer, Arizona's season would have ended at the most unlikely and disappointing of times.

I thought the emotion from the win would have propelled UA to the Final Four; I guess I was just three-points off. Maybe if Jason Gardner's shot would have gone in to tie the game against Kansas, my best memory could have been different.

But just seeing how all 10 players on the court battled on that night in Salt Lake City was my best memory of the year.

Brian Penso staff writer

Being at the Gonzaga/Arizona basketball game was a great experience, but the memory that I will remember the most this year came from the women's volleyball team.

Every year, the women's volleyball team plays a match before the basketball team's Midnight Madness celebration.

This year, the Wildcats played host to defending national champion Stanford and two-time National Player of the Year Logan Tom.

More than 9,000 people packed into McKale Center in order to get a good seat for the Midnight Madness event, but what they didn't expect was to see was one of the greatest comebacks in UA sports history.

The Cardinal jumped on UA early and stormed out to a 0-2 lead.

The Wildcats looked like a defeated group of athletes who had all of the life taken out of them.

It looked as though Arizona was going to just let Stanford sweep them in front of the largest crowd in UA volleyball history, but at the snap of a finger, the tides changed.

The Wildcats began to feed off of the crowd and played inspired volleyball, rallying from the 0-2 deficit to win the match.

That match could have been used as the motto for college athletics as it was filled with two teams who never gave up.

In the fifth and deciding game, both teams gave everything they had, making it one of those matches where it's a shame there has to be a loser.

David Stevenson staff writer

It was parents weekend two years ago, and Arizona was hosting Washington State. After a day of cocktail parties and barbecues, the game moved slowly until mid-way through the third quarter. The Wildcats recovered a fumble, but the two-point conversion failed and they were up 20-19. Dad then turned to me and said, "Dave, this game isn't exciting. I'm tired and I'm leaving."

I found a group of friends, and together we watched both sides score two touchdowns, mixed with another UA failed conversion. Wildcat kicker Sean Keel clanged a 52-foot yarder off the upright at the gun, and the game went into overtime.

Each team scored two touchdowns. In the third overtime, Arizona scored but failed its third two-point conversion of the night. On the Cougars' ensuing possession, Antonio Pierce intercepted a pass that sealed the four-hour game. Instinct flooded me. I leapt the fence and charged the field. I found a big guy, we put our arms around each other and were swept into a player-hug sandwich while other players and students swarmed around us.

We jumped and chanted "Bear Down," and then my guy took off his helmet and gave a speech. In a massive huddle of players littered with students, captain Joe Tafoya told everyone he was proud, with me standing next to him. The next morning the Daily Star ran a photo on the front page of the huddle with me in the center; I still have the clip.

Arizona moved to 5-1 on the season, but dropped five straight. That was the last Wildcat conference victory at home in my college career.