Live by the 3, die by the 3.

Stanford lived by it against Arizona to stay unbeaten.

Former UA great Steve Kerr made his living by it, becoming the best long-range shooter the NBA has ever seen.

But as this year's UA men's basketball team can attest, the catch phrase doesn't just make or break a single game - the 3-ball can change entire seasons.

"You're never out of a game," said assistant head coach Rodney Tention, who works to develop Arizona's perimeter players. "You can be down 10 with two minutes to go, but you're not out of the game with the 3-point shot." [Read article]

Arizona men's basketball head coach Lute Olson has made his disdain for the Pacific 10 Conference tournament well known in the past.

Olson spoke his mind again yesterday, this time lashing out against the conference's athletic directors.

"I think it's about time our athletic directors recognize that they are killing our national image," Olson said.

According to the coach, the conference is suffering from its lowest image in years due to the lack of non-conference play, a tournament that doesn't include all 10 teams and a conference schedule that is two games too long. [Read article]

After taking two of three games from then-No. 8 Cal State Fullerton in its weekend home set, the Arizona baseball team jumped to its highest ranking since 1993 in yesterday's polls.

In the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, Arizona moved up six spots from last week, ending the week ranked 11th. The 1993 Wildcats were ranked No. 9 in a pair of season-ending polls.

The UA jumped from No. 22 to No. 14 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, and from 15th to 13th in the Baseball America rankings. [Read article]

similarities

This year's team just isn't ready.

There's no true leadership.

They lost too many guys from last season.

Wait 'til next year; they're gonna be awesome.

This was the sentiment from fans and analysts regarding the Arizona men's basketball team's national championship hopes in the 1996-97 season. The same chatter from seven years ago can be heard on TV and around the university right now. [Read article]

Adia Barnes set the Arizona women's career scoring record during her time as a Wildcat forward from 1995-98. Following her UA career, she was drafted by the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs. After bouncing around the league for a few years, she settled in with the Seattle Storm in 2002, and has since emerged as a key contributor. Barnes took some time out from rehabbing a torn ACL suffered midway through last season to talk to the Wildcat. [Read article]