Despite losing three of its last four games, the UA men's basketball team has not pressed the panic button.
Arizona returns home this week after a tough road stretch through Washington and northern California that dropped the Wildcats to fourth in the Pacific 10 Conference. Though they're all but eliminated from conference title contention, the Wildcats (14-6, 6-5 Pac-10) say they're still motivated.
"We understand we have a lot of expectations at this school and we have great big shoes to fill," junior center Channing Frye said. "We have to go out there and play for ourselves."
But after losing a heartbreaker to Stanford at the buzzer on Saturday, the team's confidence is not at an all-time high.
"If we entered the tournament today, I think we'd be a little bewildered," senior guard Jason Ranne said. "But that's why we have the rest of the season. I think our confidence will be higher by then."
That flagging confidence showed up in the players' post-game comments Saturday. In the wake of Nick Robinson's half-court game winner, Arizona had an airing of grievances in the Maples Pavilion locker room, most notably from sophomore forward Andre Iguodala, who pinned the blame on himself.
"A lot of things were said in the locker room after the game," Iguodala said. "Some of those things that were negative should be said sometimes. There were a lot of emotions going on. We just had a tough loss; it's going to happen."
Though emotions are running high in the locker room, Frye said the team is remaining upbeat and avoiding the urge to lay the blame on each other.
"The only finger-pointing is everybody at themselves," Frye said. "That's what I like about this team. Everybody tries to step up each time they step on the court, and sometimes, we're just not on the same page."
The players pointed out the team's slow start in its recent losses. Porous first-half defense has left the Wildcats trailing at the break in three of the squad's last four games.
The difference between winning and losing on the Wildcats' recent road trip came down to the team's lack of intensity in the game's opening five minutes, Iguodala said.
Head coach Lute Olson sees a budding frustration with his young squad.
"We're just not a good defensive ball club yet," Olson said, "and that's frustrating because we have the ability."
According to Olson, the lack of maturity comes from the slow development of sophomore starters Iguodala and Hassan Adams.
"We're not mentally tough enough in some of those positions to do the kind of job defensively that we need to do," Olson said.
Arizona has relied on an explosive offense to compensate for the lack of defense. After 20 games, the Wildcats continue to lead the NCAA in scoring at 86.7 points per game, slightly ahead of North Carolina (86.1). The Wildcats are shooting 48 percent from the floor this season and 49.4 percent in Pac-10 play.
But the players said that if they hope to recover from their current losing streak, they'll have to play the kind of improved defense they did in the second half against Stanford, when the UA repeatedly mounted comebacks.
"I was actually kind of happy our team played so well those last 20 minutes," Frye said. "I think it gave our team confidence that we can play with any team in the country."
"I don't want to say it's in the dumps," Ranne said, "but guys aren't bouncing around the locker room like they usually do. I think it's going to be more of a workman's attitude from here on out."
Wildcats fall to lowest AP ranking of season this week
Robinson's buzzer-beater not only sank the Wildcats to fourth in the Pac-10 behind California and Oregon, but also dropped the Wildcats further in the rankings.
Losses to the Cardinal and Cal in the Bay Area lowered the Wildcats to No. 16 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
The Wildcats did find themselves nationally recognized for the 282nd consecutive week.
Running for their lives
Arizona's run-and-gun style of offense was never more evident than in the second half of Saturday's game with Stanford.
The Wildcats erased a 12-point first-half deficit via an explosive 21-4 run that spanned 9:34 and gave Arizona a five-point lead. The 17-point swing was Arizona's sixth such run of 15 points or more this season. Four times, the Wildcats have had runs of 17 points, coming at the expense of California, Louisiana-Lafayette, Saint Louis and the Cardinal.
On Jan. 3, the Wildcats lit up rival Arizona State for a 16-point run en route to a 93-74 win. But the most impressive run by the Wildcats this season came against Oregon on Jan. 25 in McKale Center. Arizona torched the Ducks for an 18-0 run in less than five minutes.