Men's basketball head coach Lute Olson said the Pac-10 will be back next year.
"I think, as a league, we'll move back into the top four conferences," Olson said after the Pacific 10 Conference placed just three teams in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Olson said he based much of his forecast on the return of most of the league's top players. Almost 90 percent of the Pac-10's starters from 2003-2004 will be back with their respective squads. He also pointed out that nearly 30 of the 50 starters this season were either freshmen or sophomores.
"The vast majority of the top scorers and rebounders and assist people will be back as well," he said. "(Oregon senior All-American) Luke Jackson is the big loss."
If no Pac-10 players declare early for the NBA draft, only Southern California and Oregon would lose their leading scorers. Jackson led Oregon, while Desmon Farmer paced USC.
Arizona State's Ike Diogu, a sophomore who recently announced that he plans to return next season, led the league in scoring at 22.8 points per game.
If nobody declares early, three Wildcats ÷ sophomore forward Hassan Adams, junior guard Salim Stoudamire and junior center Channing Frye ÷ will be among the top five returning scorers in the conference.
Olson also previewed some of the Wildcats' nonconference matchups for next season. The highlights include the second half of a home-and-home set with Marquette in Milwaukee, a berth in the preseason National Invitational Tournament and a neutral-site tilt against current Final Four team Oklahoma State.
Arizona is 8-0 in its last two appearances in the preseason NIT, having won the tournament in 1995 and 1999.
"We're starting a series with Rice in Houston so that we can have better exposure for Texas recruiting in the Houston area," Olson added, noting that the Wildcats still have a couple of open dates on their schedule. "We still have a made-for-TV opening. We're waiting to see what they may have in mind there."
Olson looked even further ahead to a possible series beginning in 2005-2006 between Arizona and Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse North Carolina.
"What we're looking for there is trying to get Virginia on the alternate years ÷ so if we're at North Carolina, we can get Virginia here ÷ so that we can have a presence on the East Coast each year," Olson said.
The Wildcats and Tar Heels last met in the 1997 Final Four, when Arizona won 66-58 to advance to the national championship game against Kentucky. In that game, the Wildcats won the only national title in the program's history.