Facts don't lie.
It's easy for fans of the Arizona basketball team to say the team is playing its best basketball of the season now, but recent statistics prove the Wildcats are on quite a tear.
Since an embarrassing loss to Washington, the Wildcats have won four straight games by an average of 23 points, narrowed UCLA's seemingly insurmountable lead in the Pacific 10 Conference to one game and have had three players score 20-plus points in two games.
When Khalid Reeves (26), Damon Stoudamire (20) and Joseph Blair (20) teamed to beat Cal in Berkeley earlier this month, it was the first time an Arizona team has had three players score 20 or more points in Pac-10 play.
The college ranking polls have taken notice, and Arizona (21-4, 10-3) has jumped six places to No. 9 in The Associated Press poll _ one of the biggest improvements of the week.
"We're playing great, but definitely, there are things we can improve on," said guard Reggie Geary, who has had 15 steals in the past six games. "We're playing at a real high level, but we need to keep things up and stay consistent."
• • •
The Wildcats will have a chance to extend their second-half dominance when they visit the Oregon schools this weekend, but the players and coaches know better than to look
An area of concern for Arizona this season has centered around the Wildcats' lack of focus in easy-win situations, evidenced by their tougher-than-expected win over Oregon and their loss to the Huskies.
The Wildcats have learned from their mistakes and when they travel to Oregon, it could get ugly.
"We're gonna come out there 10 times more focused," Geary said. "We realize that if we don't come to play, we're gonna get beat. Those (Oregon and Washington) games were such a learning experience for us."
Arizona visits Oregon State (6-15, 2-10) tomorrow night at 8:07. The game will be televised locally by KMSB-Channel 11.
Saturday, the Wildcats take on Oregon (8-13, 4-8) at 2 p.m. The contest will be shown by KOLD-Channel 13.
• • •
One person who is looking forward to the Oregon trip is Reeves, who is averaging 26.7 points a game over the last three games against the Beavers.
"I always come out strong there," said Reeves, who has scored an average of 21 points in the past six games against Oregon State.
Reeves doesn't know why.
"Everything just happens that way there, I guess."
• • •
In Arizona's past nine losses in the Pac-10, eight conference players of the week have been recognized for their efforts in dethroning the Wildcats. The last was Washington's Maurice Woods, who scored 20 points and 10 rebounds to beat
Last week, Oregon guard Orlando Williams was named the Pac-10 player of the week after he led the Ducks on a road trip sweep of the Washington schools. Against Washing-ton State, he had a career-high 40 points and seven
But don't expect Williams to have a career week at the expense of the Wildcats.
"Orlando is a good player, but hopefully we'll give him a good battle," said Reeves, who has won the ball control battle by committing one turnover in 124 minutes of action.