Nobody said it was going to be easy.

But the No. 9 seeded Arizona women's basketball team did not even come close as it suffered a season-ending 76-43 loss at the hands of No. 1 seed Louisiana State University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., last night.

The Wildcats (20-12) found themselves in an early hole as the Tigers (31-2) scored 11 points while Arizona missed its first seven shots and committed turnovers in three of its first five possessions. [Read article]

The Arizona men's basketball team is no stranger to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats have been in the tournament's third round four times in the past five years. However, Arizona has not reached the Final Four since 2001, when it fell to Duke 82-72 in the NCAA championship game.

This year's Chicago Regional - filled with three title-contenders and a Cinderella - pose a threat to the Wildcats' hopes of a trip to St. Louis and the Final Four. [Read article]

Arizona men's basketball head coach Lute Olson said this week that once the NCAA Tournament gets to the regional semifinal, no team gets to this stage by chance.

"When you get to the Sweet 16, there are no teams that can't play anymore," he said. "They are all there for a reason."

No reason is bigger than the coaches who head these 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.

Half of the coaches left in the tourney have been there and done that in the 65-team playoff, often more than once. These coaches are household names even to the mildly interested college basketball fan. Olson, Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State, Roy Williams at North Carolina, Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals, Bobby Knight with Texas Tech, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, Tubby Smith at Kentucky... and what was that other guy's name? [Read article]

Albuquerque Region

No. 1 Washington - The Huskies have dominated their opponents in their first two games, averaging 92.5 points per game.

Why they will win: Junior guard Nate Robinson has the biggest heart of any player in the tournament, and fellow guards Will Conroy, Brandon Roy and Tre Simmons are tough matchups for any team to stop.

Why they won't win: If the Huskies get into a slow down, half-court game at any point in the tournament, they won't have enough inside muscle to overcome a poor shooting performance. [Read article]

Junior ace John Meloan earned Pacific 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after shutting out No. 1 Cal State Fullerton 1-0 Friday on the road.

The right-hander pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings for the No. 13 Wildcats, holding the Titans to four hits while walking four and striking out five in out-dueling Fullerton ace Ricky Romero, a likely top-10 pick in June's amateur draft, according to Arizona head coach Andy Lopez. [Read article]

The Arizona women's basketball team's second-round matchup with Louisiana State University only lasted on ESPN2 for four minutes.

The Wildcats trailed the Tigers 11-0 and the sports network decided to switch to another game.

It was apparent from those first four minutes what the difference in the game would be:

Defense.

Arizona ended up losing 76-43, but more important than the loss, Arizona saw what it takes to be one of the nation's top programs and if they want to get where LSU has been over the last few years, they better have taken notes. [Read article]

See ball spin. See Jackie hit. Hit, Jackie, hit.

Coming off her best offensive performance of the season, senior infielder Jackie Coburn was named the Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week for the week of March 15-21, the conference announced yesterday.

Coburn hit .357 with three home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs while playing at catcher in all six games of the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., last weekend. [Read article]