Game Analysis: Solemn senior sendoff [03.31.03]
Title quest, senior careers, end with heartbreaking loss one win from Final Four

ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ They didn't have to talk but they did.

Luke Walton has dodged questions before. So has Salim Stoudamire. [Read article]

Game Notes: Freshmen push into lineup for Elite Eight [03.31.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ As familiar as it has become to see Salim Stoudamire knocking down a 3-pointer this year, it has also become common to see him sitting on the bench with a towel over his head.

Stoudamire was once again sitting on the bench when UA needed him the most. He played just eight minutes in the second half. [Read article]

Wildcats title run ends in Anaheim, not New Orleans [03.29.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Time after time, UA would seem to find answer.

However, when it needed it most, it fell just short.

A missed 3-pointer by Jason Gardner as time expired Saturday gave Kansas a 78-75 victory and ended the Wildcats run at a national championship and the careers of three of the most celebrated seniors in school history. [Read article]

One more to Final Four [03.28.03]
Hoops will take on Kansas after last night's victory

ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ Coming off a one-point double overtime victory over No. 9 seed Gonzaga last weekend, many thought top-seeded Arizona was more lucky than good after the second-round scare. [Read article]

Analysis: UA's physical Sweet 16 play sends Notre Dame packing [03.28.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ Maybe the guys out West aren't so weak after all.

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey liked his team's match up with a less-physical Arizona squad so much he said before the game he was even hoping the two teams would meet up. [Read article]

Kansas, UA to battle for ĪBig Easy' berth [03.28.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ It would have been a rematch either way.

If Duke had pulled out the win, UA could have tried to avenge a 10-point loss in the 2001 NCAA Championship game. [Read article]

The luck stops here [03.27.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. - There would be no letdown on this night.

The Wildcats came out and crushed Notre Dame to reach the regional finals for the second time in three seasons with an 88-71 win. [Read article]

Sweet sixteen showdown [03.27.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ The Notre Dame basketball team adopted the motto and has used it the entire season.

If the 3-point shot drops, great; if not, keep shooting it and don't look back.

"The 3-ball is a huge part of our offense," Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "We want to shoot the ball and shoot it confidently." [Read article]

Familiar Foes [03.27.03]
Point guards Gardner and Thomas square off tonight in matchup of Indiana high school stars

ANAHEIM, Calif. - After getting back to his hotel room Saturday following the Notre Dame's win over Illinois, Chris Thomas was able to catch the end of UA's second round tournament win over Gonzaga.

Thomas could have been rooting for a matchup against the Zags, a team where his Fighting Irish team would come into Anaheim as the favorite. [Read article]

'Cats in familiar territory at Pond [03.27.03]
ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ UA was able to shoot around at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim for 50 minutes yesterday, but many Arizona players are already familiar with the surroundings.

Some of those memories are good, some bad for UA, which holds a 3-1 mark in the Pond. [Read article]

Wild Wild West [03.26.03]
The West regional semifinals feature three coaches that boast a combined 16 Final Four appearances and four NCAA National titles, along with third year Notre Dame head coach looking for his first of each

Mike Brey must feel a little out of place. [Read article]

Playing time at a premium [03.25.03]

UA reserves forced to trade floor time for chance at title

For the first time since the final buzzer sounded against Gonzaga, Rick Anderson had a chance to relax.

Sitting in the hot tub Sunday in the McKale Center training facility after a night where he was unable to sleep, Anderson was taking the first step in recovering from all the minutes he logged against the Zags in Salt Lake City. He played a career-high 40 minutes in the double-overtime affair. [Read article]

Sweetness in Salt Lake [03.24.03]
SALT LAKE CITY ÷ Joy, exhilaration, jubilation, relief, exhaustion. Describing in a single word how the Arizona Wildcats felt as the final horn sounded is nearly impossible.

Bottom line, the Wildcats move on. [Read article]

War more important to players [03.24.03]
SALT LAKE CITY ÷ During the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament, basketball was often sidelined as CBS switched its television programming to the live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

While March Madness was the focal point of what is arguably the biggest three-week span in American sports, American soldiers were on the minds of all the athletes. [Read article]

Game Analysis: Wild victory could push 'Cats to top [03.24.03]
SALT LAKE CITY ÷ As Blake Stepp pump faked and went up to shoot, Rick Anderson's heart stopped.

If Stepp's last-second shot in double-overtime had gone in, it would've been over. [Read article]

Cat's survive scare for Cinderella Zags [03.22.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - Call it an ESPN Classic.

A missed shot by Gonzaga's Blake Stepp at the buzzer in double-overtime ended a scare for the Wildcats in 96-95 victory Saturday.

The win sets up a meeting with No. 5 seeded Notre Dame on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif. [Read article]

UA men's basketball notes: On to Anaheim [03.22.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - The Wildcats didn't have much time to enjoy their 96-95 double overtime victory over Gonzaga as they had to leave immediately and catch a flight back to Tucson.

The West's No. 1 seed Arizona will have Sunday off and it will return to practice on Monday to prepare for No. 5 seed Notre Dame. [Read article]

Zags; From the hunter to the hunted [03.21.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - With the NCAA tournament perennially being full of upsets, its no wonder that the first two days of action this year saw many of the top-ranked teams either knocked off or pushed to their limits. [Read article]

Game notes: Stoudamire itching for match up with Stepp [03.21.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - Salim Stoudamire will have a little extra motivation for Saturday's game against the Zags.

In high school, Stoudamire and Gonzaga guard Blake Stepp, both played basketball in the state of Oregon, at Lake Oswego and South Eugene, respectively. [Read article]

War on student-athletes minds [03.21.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - During Friday's NCAA tournament games, CBS switched its television programming to the live coverage of the war in the Middle East. Below are the reactions from the student-athlete's and coaches on the war and the effect that it is having on the NCAA tournament. [Read article]

Scouting the opponent: From Martinique to Spokane; Ronny Turiaf [03.21.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - Pressure packed tournament games and hordes of media members are nothing new to Ronny Turiaf.

Turiaf, a sophomore forward for Gonzaga who played with the French National team when he was just 15-years-old, said Friday the NCAA Tournament is similar to the European Championships where he competed at as a teenager. [Read article]

Commentary: Impressions of Salt Lake City... [03.21.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - I wouldn't recommend anyone changing any spring break plans to head to Utah, but the weather actually isn't that bad. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday it was a balmy 50 degrees, and the snow on the mountains looks amazing. Personally, I am hoping the snow stays right where it is and doesn't start falling from the skies, even though it probably could at any moment. On Thursday and Friday, the weather thankfully seemed to be only getting nicer· [Read article]

A mountain of a win for Arizona [03.20.03]
SALT LAKE CITY- For 10 minutes Thursday, it seemed that Vermont could hold their own against the nations best team.

That didn't last long though, as the Arizona men's basketball team took its game to a level it hasn't seen lately, cruising to an 80-51 victory over the 16th seeded Catamounts. [Read article]

UA men's basketball notes: NCAA tournament [03.20.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - After defeating Vermont 80-51 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, UA head coach Lute Olson gave the Wildcats a few hours off to see how some other team's would fare on the first day of tournament action.

After eating dinner at its hotel, it was back to business as usual for UA, with the team already preparing for its matchup on Saturday. [Read article]

Gardner's struggles from the field continue [03.20.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - Jason Gardner doesn't want to call it a slump.

But for the second straight game the UA senior point guard has had a tough time finding the bottom of the net. [Read article]

A Long Wait, but well worth it for Vermont [03.20.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - Tom Brennan knows that he doesn't coach at a big time college basketball program.

The Vermont team doesn't stay in fancy hotels, doesn't recruit McDonald's All-Americans and definitely doesn't travel first class. [Read article]

Vermont delayed but game time remains [03.19.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - With Vermont delayed in Colorado on Tuesday and most of Wednesday, it will not affect the start time for its games against Arizona.

Delayed by 30 inches of snow in the Denver area, the Catamounts spent Tuesday night in a hotel. [Read article]

The title run starts here [03.19.03]
SALT LAKE CITY - The Wildcats began the season with its sights set on bringing home their second national championship in school history.

With six wins needed to be crowned champs, the No. 1 seed Arizona men's basketball team will have a chance to cut it to five wins when it takes on 16th seed Vermont Thursday at 1:20 MST in Salt Lake City. [Read article]

Vermont delayed but game time remains [03.19.03]
I wouldn't recommend anyone changing their spring break plans to Utah but the weather isn't that bad, a balmy 50 at 4 p.m., and the snow on the mountains looks nice. Just hoping the snow stays on the mountains and doesn't start falling from the skies. [Read article]

Out but not down [03.14.03]
Poor outside shooting ruins UA's bid for Pac-10 repeat, keeps UCLA's season alive

LOS ANGELES ÷ The Wildcats and Bruins both entered the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament playing possibly their best basketball of the season.

The only difference was what the teams were playing for. [Read article]

Time for UA to refocus [03.14.03]
LOS ANGELES ÷ A lot has been said about how the Wildcats don't care too much about the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament.

Since Arizona lost to UCLA in overtime yesterday afternoon, 96-89, many people around the Staples Center blamed the loss purely on motivation, or lack thereof. [Read article]

'Cats ready to repeat in L.A. [03.13.03]
UA's tournament title defense starts today with UCLA

Playing 27 games over the course of the regular season is fine with head coach Lute Olson. Adding three more to the schedule just before the NCAA tournament isn't. [Read article]

2003 Pac-10 Tournament: · and the rest [03.13.03]
The rest of the field takes the court today following UA's showdown with UCLA

No. 4 Arizona State (11-7, 19-10) vs. No. 5 Oregon (10-8, 20-9)
Game time: 4:30 p.m. [Read article]

Seven 'Cats earn Pac-10 recognition [03.12.03]
The Pacific-10 Conference recognized seven Wildcat basketball players this week, naming seniors Luke Walton and Jason Gardner to the All-Pac-10 team.

Sophomores Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire and senior Rick Anderson were given honorable mention all-conference honors. [Read article]

Olson honored by Pac-10 [03.11.03]
Even with the nation's No. 1 ranking and Pac-10 Conference co-Coach of the Year Lute Olson ÷ Olson and Stanford's head man Mike Montgomery shared the honor yesterday ÷ nothing is a lock.

Despite UA's record of dominating the Pac-10 tournament, which starts in two days in Los Angeles, a tournament victory is not definite. [Read article]

'Cats pluck pesky Ducks with late run [03.10.03]
For the first 30 minutes of Saturday's game, the backcourt duo of James Davis and Luke Ridnour had Oregon looking like both a national contender and a challenger of Arizona for the Pacific-10 Conference title.

That changed midway through the second half as the Wildcats (25-2, 17-1 Pac-10) proved why they are the nation's top-ranked team by closing out the Ducks (20-9, 10-8) 88-80. [Read article]

Analysis: Gardner takes center stage one more time [03.10.03]
Hollywood couldn't have done it any better.

Playing in his last game at McKale, Jason Gardner put on a performance that could garner some Oscar votes, or at least some for Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year. [Read article]

Hoops trio of seniors honored as MVPs [03.10.03]
After stealing the show last year with his guitar, Rick Anderson was at a loss for words at last night's awards banquet in the Westin La Paloma's banquet room.

First off, he lost his voice and could barely speak, struggling with a short song he wrote. [Read article]

A win is still a win [03.07.03]
'Cats unable to close out Beavers until late in John's return to Tucson

Jay John wanted to leave his hometown with a win against the nation's No.1 team and the team that he grew up not only watching but coaching.

Even though that didn't happen as John's Oregon State Beavers lost to UA 72-60 last night in McKale Center, his team played the Wildcats close the entire game. [Read article]

From playing partners to parenthood [03.07.03]
In Bill Walton's lifetime he has played ball with hundreds of different teammates.

Some were legendary, like Larry Bird and Kevin McKale. Others, like Maurice Lucas, weren't as well known.

But out of all of them, Bill decided to name one of his four children after his favorite teammate ÷ Maurice "Luke" Lucas. [Read article]

Olson may be ready for a different ring [03.05.03]
UA head coach Lute Olson may be looking to bring home his second national championship ring this April, but reports yesterday say that Olson may be ready to add a different kind of ring to his collection.

Reports by the Pittsburgh Tribune stated that Olson proposed to Christine Toretti in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 25 after the Wildcats' win over Kansas. [Read article]

'Cats ĪMarch' to Pac-10 title [03.03.03]
Title-clinching road win opens college hoops' month of madness

STANFORD, Calif. ÷ At times, home court advantage is way overrated.

Until Saturday night, the visiting team had won the last five in the Arizona/Stanford series ÷ make it six. Until Saturday night only two teams had ever gone undefeated on the road in Pacific 10 conference play ÷ make it three. [Read article]

Analysis: One down, two more titles to go [03.03.03]
STANFORD, Calif. ÷ There were no streamers falling from the ceiling or nets being cut down Saturday night in Maples Pavilion.

There was just a little celebration, and even less time to revel in the victory, after the Wildcats won the Pacific-10 Conference title on Saturday night in Palo Alto. [Read article]

Wildcats Claim 10th Pac-10 Title [03.01.03]
STANFORD, Calif. - It might not have been the way they envisioned winning but when the Wildcats left the court Saturday night in Stanford they won their 10th Pac-10 Conference title.

An airball on a free throw by UA senior forward Rick Anderson that could have given UA a four point lead, instead led to two last minute three point attempts by the Cardinal could have tied the game but both missed long. [Read article]

'Cats golden against Bears [02.28.03]
No. 1 UA deadly from downtown in rout of No. 23 Cal on first leg of Bay Area road trip

BERKELEY, Calif. ÷ Call it a redemption game for Luke Walton.

After getting shut out in the Wildcats' last game against the Golden Bears in Tucson, the senior scored 20 points and made two clutch 3-pointers in Arizona's 88-75 victory in Haas Pavilion last night. [Read article]

UA one win away from Pac-10 title [02.28.03]
BERKELEY, Calif. ÷ Warm her up because the fat lady is about to explode.

Even though it's going to take a win tomorrow afternoon against Stanford to clinch the Pac-10 Conference title, by the talk of the Wildcat players in the locker room after the game, it's almost said and done. [Read article]

Golden Bear hunting [02.27.03]
Wildcats try and put an end to Cal's 17 game win streak at home

Before the season began, the Wildcats had three goals: Take home Pacific-10 Conference title, win the Pac-10 tournament and be crowned NCAA Champions. [Read article]

Latimore leaving [02.26.03]
Sophomore becomes second UA hoops player to depart top-ranked squad since start of Pac-10 play

Sophomore reserve forward Dennis Latimore left the UA basketball team yesterday before practice with his future plans undecided, said head coach Lute Olson.

Latimore, a 6-foot-8 native of Halstead, Kan., averaged 3.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23 games this season. [Read article]

Frye emerging as full-court presence [02.26.03]
Sophomore center Channing Frye was recruited out of high school based on the potential that UA head coach Lute Olson saw in the Phoenix native.

Olson projected that Frye would begin to shine during his junior season, but he was wrong.

Frye, the current Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week, has emerged as a threat on the offensive and defensive ends in recent weeks. [Read article]