Panic button within reach for Wildcats

Is it time to panic yet?

Coaches and players alike agree that Arizona not only plays poor defense, but can't compete consistently on the road, to boot.

The Wildcats lack mental toughness ÷ so says their no-longer-fearless leader ÷ and losses like last night's 89-84 setback to unranked Washington in McKale Center can no longer be considered anything close to a moral victory.

Throw in the possibility of the team going at least another game riding its most recent flat tire ÷ the ill-timed suspension of leading scorer Salim Stoudamire ÷ and many UA fans are wondering if the wheels are ready to come off altogether.

"I'm at a loss," said Wildcat head coach Lute Olson. "I'm embarrassed in terms of our understanding of what needs to be done."

Olson addressed the game as usual during his post-game press conference and gave kudos to junior center Channing Frye for his 25-point, nine-board effort. He also gave senior reserve guard Jason Ranne a pat on the back for chewing up minutes in Stoudamire's absence.

But it was one short statement that summed up the frustration of both Olson and his staff at this point in the season, with just two games remaining before the madness is set to begin.

"I apologize for (the team's effort)," he said. "The coaches apologize for it."

With 500 wins, four Final Four appearances and a national title on his UA rŽsume, Olson may not need to apologize for his team's inability to win a game ÷ or eight that it probably could have.

Nevertheless, his team sits dangerously close to dropping out of the regular season top 25 polls for the first time since before the team reached its first Final Four in 1988. Standing at 17-8 overall, Arizona could fail to win 20 games in a season for the first time since 1986-87.

And with just over two weeks remaining until Selection Sunday, Arizona is in danger of being lower than a five seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since it earned a 10 seed for the 1987 dance. Prior to last night's loss, the Wildcats were projected at or around an eight seed by multiple Ratings Percentage Index simulations.

Throw into the mix the possibility of Stoudamire sitting for any part of the remainder of this season, and the outlook looks bleak for this year's squad.

Stoudamire's off-court indiscretions are the apex of the Wildcats' season-long troubles, and it's no secret that the team misses his oft-deadly outside jumper or his 16.8 points per game.

More importantly, though, it gives the UA faithful more of a reason to keep one finger close to the panic button.

Ranne, who was as spirited after the game as he's ever been, is possibly the wise old prophet the Wildcats need if they want to plug the leak anytime soon. He said he knows the way to turn around a team that's lost five of its last nine games.

"It's about making sacrifices, sacrifices for your team," Ranne said. "At this point I'm not willing to say that these bunch of guys are willing to do that, including myself, including the scout team and everything."

Ranne said the problems weren't related to the game at all, but rather the team's lack of cohesiveness away from the court.

"It's just a lot of internal things, a lot of internal turmoil. It's not basketball ÷ it's beyond that," he added. "Hopefully, we'll have it ironed out by the end of this week, and if not, the guys have to look in the mirror."

If this year's Wildcats don't fix those problems fast, the only reflections they'll be seeing are their own, in in are the rear-view mirrors of their opponents.