Hoops evens record in McKale opener after rough road trip

If the No. 9 Arizona men's basketball team was expecting to cure its shooting woes last night against Virginia, it needed to wait 20 minutes before the nets in McKale Center started heating up.

The Wildcats defeated Virginia 81-51 last night, avenging a loss Arizona took against the Cavaliers at University Hall last season, thanks largely to a dominant second half in which the team shot 66.7 percent from the field. [Read article]

UA again denied bid to host first, second rounds of tournament

For the third consecutive year, the No. 6 Arizona volleyball team will not host an NCAA Tournament contest, even though the Wildcats finished the regular season on a five-match winning streak and earned a No. 4 seed for the postseason.

Arizona (22-5, 14-4 Pacific 10 Conference) heads to Salt Lake City for the first and second rounds of the tournament, and will take on Utah State (21-12) on Friday at 6 p.m. [Read article]

Critical Wildcat injuries key second-half meltdown

All seemed well for the Arizona football team going into halftime at Sun Devil Stadium on Friday.

The Wildcats were up 12 points on archrival ASU, senior running back Mike Bell had gained 100 yards on the ground, freshman quarterback Willie Tuitama was in control of the offense, and the Arizona defense had held the Sun Devils to just an opening-drive field goal. [Read article]

The best of the weekend's athletic performances

Football: Mike Bell

No. • Running back 27 carries for 117 yards and touchdown against ASU

Football: Syndric Steptoe

No. 1 • Wide receiver Led team with 221 total yards

Volleyball: Kim Glass

No. 86 • Outside hitter Averaged 21 kills in wins over Oregon and Oregon State [Read article]

All that separated the Arizona women's basketball team from an unlikely comeback against No. 23 Utah was a 3-pointer at the buzzer heaved toward the hoop by sophomore guard Jessica Arnold.

The shot, like the efforts of the Wildcats on Saturday, fell just short, as Arizona lost 66-63 in McKale Center.

The Utes (2-1) seemed to have the game well in hand with a late 64-57 lead, but Arizona (2-2) chipped the advantage down to four points, 66-62, after redshirt junior guard Joy Hollingsworth hit a shot from behind the arc with 21.6 seconds remaining. [Read article]

In last season's 78-60 road loss to Virginia, the Arizona men's basketball team struggled from the field, making only 39.7 percent of its shots, and the Wildcats' remaining seniors remembered that game vividly last night in a rematch in McKale Center.

On a chilly night in Tucson, Arizona shot colder than the air outside for the first 20 minutes, before torching McKale Center like it was in the midst of a summer heat wave for the final 20. [Read article]

Maelstrom of Wildcat miscues leads to upsetting rivalry flop

Tempe

All it took was one play.

In a matter of seconds, ASU wide receiver Terry Richardson returned a Nick Folk punt 71 yards for a touchdown, erasing a 20-12 Arizona lead and sewing up the Ben Goo Most Valuable Player honors for the 2005 Territorial Cup rivalry game, a 23-20 Sun Devils win.

"(ASU) pinned us," said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. "They ran a sideline return, and we just didn't react very well to it." [Read article]