Save the Last Dance for Arizona

Shane Bacon — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:44:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Pac-10, March Madness

Update: Is it over? The Wildcats fell to Arizona State 68-56 in the opening round of the Pac-10 tournament.

It was 1983 when Lute Olson first came to Tucson as the head coach of an abysmal basketball program. He had just taken Iowa to the Sweet 16 the year before and was brought to the University of Arizona to turn the Wildcats around. His first season was a rebuilding year. They only won 11 games, missed the NCAA tournament and finished eighth in the Pac-10.

Since that season, Arizona hasn't missed the NCAA tournament, making it 24 straight times.

Now the streak is in jeopardy.
If Arizona can't topple in-state rival Arizona State Thursday in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, what would be a third loss to the Sun Devils this season, those three infamous letters will become a reality in the desert -- NIT.

Arizona's tournament streak is the longest active in the nation, but it has been a struggle in recent years to extend it. Last year, name alone probably got the Wildcats into the tournament, where they lost in the first round to West Virginia. Finishing just 19-15, with an 8-10 record in conference, Arizona was lucky to get in. With a weaker bubble this year, and a 19-12 (9-9) record, a win against a ranked Sun Devil squad might just do it, but a loss brings a more certain (and unpleasant) fate.

"I think they absolutely have to beat ASU. I think that's the only way in," Arizona Daily Star columnist Greg Hansen told FanHouse via e-mail. "There is such a clutter in the final five or six picks that first-round tournament losers in that group are almost sure to be NIT-bound."

Hansen has been in Tucson as long as Olson, coming in from Corvallis, Ore., in 1982 and starting off as a beat writer for Arizona football and baseball. Just a year later, he started his column, now the most popular in southern Arizona.

Whether Arizona makes the tournament this year or not, however, Hansen thinks the streak's end is unavoidable.

"I think the importance of it has diminished because of the inevitability of it ending next year," Hansen said. "It's just the difference between 24 [years] and 25. It would be a letdown but not a crushing blow because the crushing blows have already been absorbed."

Still, missing the tournament for a program as storied as Arizona became in the '80s and '90s isn't something to be taken lightly. The Wildcats had all but punched their ticket with home wins over Southern California and UCLA in the middle of February. Then came a gut-wrenching four-game skid, which included a two-point loss to ASU in Tempe and a road sweep by the Washington schools. The final dagger came when California roughed up the Wildcats in Tucson, though Arizona righted the ship in their final regular season game against Stanford.

New head coach Russ Pennell isn't thinking about the larger significance of Thursday's game (or isn't admitting to it).

"The big thing we're really focusing on is the next game, whatever that next game is," Pennell said. "And we hope our body of work speaks for itself. If we don't watch it, we can put labels (on the next game) and maybe something that's not true. The best thing for anyone on the quote-unquote bubble is to just win games. Then when they (the selection committee) get in that room, they go, 'You know what, that's good enough -let's put 'em in.'"

As an ex-Wildcat with a lot of hope for all Arizona sports teams, I obviously want to see them win from a fan's perspective, but also for a few of these players. Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill have endured more in their time with Arizona as any player in the Olson-era, and it would be a shame to see such hard work and dedication to a program end with those three coming up empty-handed.

They busted their tail, and a win on Thursday will go a long way in relieving the mounting pressure regarding the streak. Arizona still has one thing going for them that some of the other bubble teams can't boast -- their destiny is still in their hands.

Save the Last Dance for Arizona originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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