Icecats know it's sweep or nothing against Delaware

Five wins, to be exact.

The Icecats (9-8) are ranked No. 11 in the country going into this weekend's series with No. 10 Delaware. Tonight and tomorrow night's games begin at 7:30 at the Tucson Convention Center.

This series marks the last Icecats home contests until their season-ending series against Arizona State Feb. 24 and 25.

"It's the toughest 9-8 record you'll see," Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "All of our road games are against teams in the Top 10 except for Colorado."

Following the games against the Blue Hens, the Icecats will be hitting the road for their only extended trip of the season.

They first travel to take on ASU, followed by a swing through Delaware for a rematch with the Blue Hens. The team then faces a showdown with Towson State. And after stopping off in Colorado to face off with the Buffaloes, a team the Icecats defeated in Tucson last semester, Arizona returns home to close out the season against their in-state rivals.

But by then, the Icecats will already know if their string of 19 consecutive national tournament appearances will be broken.

"We've been national contenders since 1981," Golembiewski said. "No one (in the country) has had our consistency, not even from back East."

The Icecats ended last semester with three straight losses to Arizona State, but came back over the winter break and split their two series.

"If there was a time ever needed for a break, that was it," Golembiewski said.