STANFORD, Calif. - Being in the spotlight may be nothing new for the Arizona men's basketball team, but being in the company of celebrities may not be something the No. 12 team in the country is ready for.
The fanfare surrounding Arizona's trip to Northern California didn't bode too well for the Wildcats this weekend, as they dropped a pair of games to unranked California Thursday night, 87-83, and No. 2 Stanford Saturday afternoon, 80-77.
Basketball star Carmelo Anthony, golfing great Tiger Woods, football legend Bill Walsh, NFL rookie Kyle Boller, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim Plunkett and musician Adam Duritz of Counting Crows were among those in attendance over the weekend to see the Wildcats get swept by the Bay Area schools.
"In all honesty, he thanked us when we should be thanking him for coming and supporting us," said Stanford swingman Josh Childress of Woods, who sat courtside with former Cardinal golfing teammate Jerry Chang and fiancee Elin Nordigren.
Childress said Woods came into the Stanford locker room to congratulate the team after the last-second win, adding that Woods said he tries to watch every Cardinal game from the road, staying up late during East Coast trips.
Both games also garnered national television audiences - Thursday on Fox Sports Net and Saturday on ABC - with Dick Vitale and Brent Musberger getting the nod for ABC's lead college hoops broadcast.
But in losing five of eight games over the last month, is it possible - for this season, at least - that the Wildcats' own celebrity status may be catching up with them?
No. 12 Arizona entered the weekend set with losses in three of its last six games, but had only fallen eight spots in the Associated Press poll since they faced then-No. 5 Stanford as the fourth-ranked team in the country Jan. 10 in Tucson.
The struggles continued this weekend, as Arizona trailed by as many as 12 to Cal and 13 to Stanford, with both game-high deficits occurring in the first half. According to UA head coach Lute Olson, it's just a matter of his players understanding how important every shot is, no matter when it happens during a game.
"The game was really won in the first part, when they came out and jumped on us early," Olson said of Stanford's win. "It's like we try to tell our guys: The first points of the game count for exactly the same amount as the last points of the game."
While happy with his team's comeback effort, Olson stressed the importance of not coming out sluggish during this season's stretch-run.
"We certainly didn't quit on anything. We were down double figures and came back, hit some key shots," he said. "I think we played exceptionally well in the second half, but the thing with Stanford is that they play it for the entire game.
"You just have to play every possession like it's your last one, and we did not do that early, and it caught up with us."
Freshman point guard Mustafa Shakur said that despite the loss, he and his teammates can take some positives from the trip to Stanford, knowing that opposing teams always play their best against Arizona.
"It was great because it really shows how good we can play," Shakur said. "I just hope my teammates take all the good things away from the game and look at the bad things we did and improve on it so we can have a great season beyond these two losses we just had.
"We know we're a marked target, but we think we can play with anybody. We can't hang our heads low."
Arizona players were forced - twice - to walk back to the locker room through crowds that had rushed their home court - moments that show how important beating the Wildcats is to every other Pac-10 school, No. 2 ranking or not.
According to UA center Channing Frye, however, using the Wildcats' longtime stature as one of the nation's top teams is no longer a good enough crutch after a loss, especially one like Saturday's.
"Everybody knows that. That's not an excuse anymore," Frye said after the loss to Stanford. "Everybody knows when they come to play us, they come to bring their 'A' game or they're going to get whooped. It's just that basic.
"Everyone said it was like a couple mistakes here and there, but we really could have beaten this team."