You may not notice Matt Brase on the basketball court. He doesn't have freakish athleticism, lightning-quick speed or a lights-out jumper. His teammates notice him though, and so do the coaches. What Brase does have are a heart and a passion for the game of basketball.

The 6-foot-6 Brase started his college basketball career at Central Arizona College in Coolidge, where he played plenty of minutes and averaged 14.6 points per game as a sophomore. [Read article]

When the pencils go down and the tortillas fly up in May, will the spring of 2005 be remembered as the best in the history of Arizona athletics?

Probably not. The idea, in fact, is blasphemous. Even I couldn't get the phrase typed out without recalling memories of championships past (2001, 1997, et al.).

But forget about that for a moment. As we welcome March, the litmus test for most Arizona spring sports, more than a few teams have us given reason to wonder: Is history ready to be made? [Read article]

After dropping its last regular-season home game against Washington Saturday, the Arizona women's basketball team (20-10, 11-7 Pacific 10 Conference) takes a fifth seed in this weekend's Pac-10 Conference Tournament in San Jose, Calif. Had the Wildcats defeated the Huskies, they would have been guaranteed at least a No. 3 seed.

Arizona takes on Southern California (17-10, 11-7) in first-round action Saturday at HP Pavilion. The Wildcats fell to the Trojans on Jan. 14, 67-54, at Lyon Center but exacted revenge in McKale Center on Feb. 12, 87-74. [Read article]

The loss at Washington and the narrow win over Washington State last week dropped the Arizona men's basketball team (24-5, 14-3 Pac-10) to No. 11 in both major polls, three spots down in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and two spots down in The Associated Press poll.

Arizona now has a half-game lead on Washington (23-4, 13-3) in the race for the Pacific 10 Conference title, with one game remaining, while the Huskies still play two more games. Washington moved ahead of the Wildcats to No. 10 in both polls, despite splitting the season series, with each team winning at home. [Read article]