UA fails to sweep yet another road swing
The bad news: The No. 14 UA men's basketball team fell to Oregon State, 80-74, Saturday night, the squad's fourth loss over its last six road games.
The good news: Arizona won't face another Pacific 10 Conference opponent on the road again this season - until next-month's conference tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Wildcats are 4-4 on the road during Pac-10 play, failing to sweep a road series all season.
Heading into a two-game swing through Oregon this weekend, it was Thursday night's game against the Ducks at hostile MacArthur Court that appeared to be the Wildcats' (17-6, 9-5 Pac-10) last true test of the season.
But after dispatching the Ducks, 100-87, Thursday night, it was unheralded Oregon State (11-13, 4-9) that upset the Wildcats. Led by head coach Jay John, a UA graduate and former Wildcat assistant coach, and junior forward David Lucas's 22-point, nine-rebound effort, the Beavers shocked Arizona 90-84 in Corvallis, Ore. Arizona beat OSU by 34 Jan. 22 in Tucson
OSU's first win over Arizona in four years resulted in what has become a familiar sight for Arizona players - opposing fans rushing the court.
"It was wild. They were jumping up. I was jumping up. Everybody was jumping up," Lucas said of being joined on the floor by members of the Gill Coliseum crowd. "It was a great feeling."
A great feeling for the Beavers, but the same post-game sentiment wasn't shared by the Wildcats, who witnessed home-court fans storm the court for the fourth consecutive time after a UA road loss.
"Well, we can sum it up in a few words, I think," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "The team that played the hardest won."
Olson readjusted the starting lineup once again prior to facing Oregon State, inserting Hassan Adams back at forward following his 26-point, 14-rebound outing two days earlier.
Adams responded with 14 points and seven boards, but it wasn't enough to stave off the Beavers, who led by as many as 14 in the second half.
"Obviously they were better prepared than we were, because they came out and gave it 100 percent for the whole ball game," said Olson, who said he wasn't surprised with the result, considering the Wildcats' history of splitting games on the road this season.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats hold onto the second spot in the Pac-10 standings - behind top-ranked Stanford -entering this week's action against Washington and Washington State at home.
Failing to sweep makes Thursday night's game against Washington that much more important. The Huskies sit just a game behind Arizona, in third place in the conference. after overcoming a six-point deficit in the final minute to beat rival Washington State.
Meanwhile, Oregon State jumped into a tie with the Cougars for the final Pac-10 tournament spot. Washington State enters McKale Center Saturday fighting for a shot at the postseason.
-The Associated Press contributed to this report.