Wildcats Lose Second In A Row

They’re still a projected number eight seed in Sports Illustrated’s March Madness forecast.  And that seven-game winning streak can’t be ignored.  The Arizona Wildcats look to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

But even if they keep from turning a two-game hiccup into a five-game conference-wide drubbing with their final three regular-season contests, the Wildcats’ recent performance against Arizona State and Washington State hardly inspires confidence in their tournament prospects.

The Wildcats lost control of the game against ASU, falling behind by 17 points in the second half.  But they fought back and took the lead with 4:13 left, almost winning in the end. Say what you will, they showed determination and grit.

But the Wildcats who showed up on Thursday stood flat-footed while Washington State blew through their poorly-coordinated, sluggish defense to a 69-53 win.

Arizona’s squad should be superior to WSU, and in better years this contest would have proved no more than a warm-up for the Wildcats’ inevitable tournament berth.  In reality, Arizona (8-7 in the Pac-10) is only one win ahead of Washington State (7-9).

Of the Wildcats’ final three games, one is against conference leader Washington, and another against third-place California.

Losses to both teams could send Arizona as low as eighth place in the Pac-10 Conference.  Right now they are battling it out in the middle, struggling to stay at fifth.

The game did show signs of promise for the squad- Nic Wise carried the Wildcats with a solid 19 point performance- but this late in the season, Arizona has to stop showing promise and start showing results.