Washington Huskies Basketball

After getting their NCAA bubble burst at the 11th hour and barely missing the big dance, the Washington Huskies' disappointing season will only continue in the 2012 NIT.

It's rare that a conference winner doesn't make it into the NCAA tournament, and the Huskies are upset about it, to say the least.

They are favored by most to win the NIT as a consolation. 

Not by me, though.

I'm predicting that Washington will easily win their opening-round matchup against Texas-Arlington, but they will run into trouble when they face Northwestern in the second round of the NIT.

Though Northwestern finished the year with a record of 18-13, they didn't play as badly as it may seem.

Colin Becht of the New York Times summed this up nicely in a recent column:

After an 18-13 season highlighted by an 81-74 upset of then-No. 6 Michigan State – the Spartans earned a No. 1 seed in the N.C.A.A. tournament – Northwestern’s penchant for close losses proved to be the downfall in its hopes for receiving a tournament bid. The Wildcats lost seven games by fewer than 6 points or in overtime, leaving them with just a 1-10 record against the top 50 of the Rating Percentage Index.

Washington won't stand a chance against these Wildcats. They feature a couple of deadly scorers, John Shurna and Drew Crawford, who have played in five NIT tournaments already between them.

The youth and inexperience of the Huskies will hurt them, and in the end, they'll fall to the more battle-tested team.

Terrance Ross and Tony Wroten, while fantastic young players, will whither under the bright lights and lose their shooting touch.

Northwestern will put up more of a fight than Washington will be able to handle, and they will find themselves once again dispatched rather quickly from another tournament.

Perhaps next season will be more kind to Washington. 

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The tournament selection committee came out with their selections for the 2012 NCAA tournament on Sunday. The Big East led the way with nine selections, three of which (South Florida, West Virginia and Connecticut) finished the season with 13 losses and two of those three (West Virginia and Connecticut) finished the season with conference records of .500 or worse. 

By contrast, the Pac-12 only had two teams in the tournament, and none seeded higher than 11th. Of these, Colorado is a first-year member of the Pac-12 (which meant the old Pac-10 had only a single rep) and only got in by virtue of winning the tournament. The other, California, was relegated to a First Four play-in game. Regular-season champion Washington was relegated to the NIT, as was 22-9 Oregon.

Drexel and Oral Roberts, despite having solid win-loss records of 27-6, were both left out, as was 26-6 Nevada, who bears the additional indignity of having to face Oral Roberts in the first round of the NIT. 

Of the top 16 seeds in the tournament (Nos. 1-4 in each region), there were zero teams in or west of the Rockies, with Baylor being the farthest west of the 16.

And that brings me to the two biggest beefs I have with the bracket: the "East Coast" bias of the tournament, and the inclusion of at-large teams with 12 or more losses and/or records of around .500.

Connecticut as a No. 9 seed with a 20-13 record seems like nothing more than a lifetime achievement award. How come UConn gets those, but more western programs such as Arizona and UCLA don't?   West Virginia and South Florida probably also should have been sent home or at least relegated to the NIT.

Outside of the Big East, 20-13 Texas (No. 11 seed), 21-12 Xavier (No. 10 seed) come to mind as teams who have too many losses to be in the tournament.

And, as further proof of the East Coast bias, I offer the fact that Washington, Oregon and Oral Roberts were sent packing as well the fact that the last at-large team—No. 14 seed Iona—just happens to be in New Rochelle, N.Y.  By contrast, Oral Roberts and Washington are west of the Mississippi, and Washington is on the West Coast.  

So, I propose the additional conditions that you need a record of better than .500 in conference and no more than 12 losses overall to get in as an at-large selection. Yes, that would effectively cap the Big East at seven or eight bids, but 10-12 percent of the total teams in the tournament seems like a reasonable limit. That limit would also add relevance to the regular season, rather than making it the preseason lead-up to the conference and NCAA tournaments.

I would also automatically pencil in the Pac-12 or Mountain West regular-season champion as no lower than a No. 3 seed playing in one of the Western pods and going to the West regional.

Bottom line, the Big East doesn't need all those teams in the tournament, and the West needs more and higher-seeded teams. 

The Washington Huskies are going to steamroll opponents in the NIT, and prove that they should have had a place in the madness of the NCAA Tournament. 

This team has no one to blame but themselves that they are not in the tournament. Had they won just one game in the Pac-12 Tournament, they would likely be preparing to start the Big Dance right now. 

But they didn't. The Huskies fell to Oregon State in their first Pac-12 Tournament game. And with that they became the first champion from one of the six power conferences to be denied entrance into the Big Dance in the modern era of the tournament. 

All of this, the failure and rejection, is going to fuel a young and talented Washington team to get a slight piece of redemption. 

Why the Huskies Will Dominate

Sophomore Terrence Ross and freshman Tony Wroten are two of the better young players in the country. They are athletic and dynamic scorers.

Wroten can penetrate into the lane at will, and Ross is a silky smooth shooter, and also a solid ball handler.

Both players can play some serious D when they put their mind to it, too. And they will both be supremely motivated to perform in this tournament.

There is a chance that both will look to make the jump to the NBA following this season. They are both projected as first-round picks, like in this mock, but the dismal end to their team's season is going to leave a bad taste in scouts' mouths. 

These guys will literally be playing for millions of dollars in this tournament. With sterling performances they can leave on a good note, and would possibly even work their way into a lotto selection. 

These guys are going to be the most talented players every time they step onto the court in this tournament, and they are going to be the most motivated as well. That is bad news for the rest of the field. 

The Huskies are going to cruise in this NIT because their stars are going to dominate. 

March Madness 2012 is underway, with the 68 teams competing in the tournament selected on Sunday. Once the second-round games of the NCAA tournament start and the NIT tournament is underway, most people will forget about the 2012 NCAA tournament snubs.

The selection committee chair, Jeff Hathaway, claimed Oral Roberts (27-5, 17-1; RPI: 46) was the first out. Had the Golden Eagles made the NCAA tournament, Washington’s snub would have stung a little less.

The Eagles finished first in the Summit Conference regular season. They also beat then-No. 8 Xavier 64-42 earlier in the season.

While the RPI system and conference tournament automatic bids are full of flaws, that’s the way the game is played, and every team knows it.

South Dakota State won the Summit’s automatic bid and their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. South Dakota State notably beat Washington in a road game earlier in the season.

It was not the Eagles to be the last into the NCAA tournament, or even Drexel. Drexel (27-6, 16-2; RPI: 71) won the CAA regular-season title. The VCU Rams won the CAA Conference title and the automatic bid.

Washington (21-10, 14-4; RPI: 69) finished the regular season first in the Pac-12. The Huskies lost in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State. Colorado, a team that finished the regular season tied for fifth in the Pac-12, won the tournament and the Pac-12’s automatic bid.

Washington’s snub was the first time in the modern era of the NCAA tournament that a power-conference regular-season champion has not received an at-large bid.

What all these snubs have in common is that essentially they suggest the regular season does not matter all that much, especially in conferences that lack AP Top 25 teams, or many RPI Top 50 teams.

The way the system is set up outweighs the conference tournament over the regular season. If the NCAA tournament is supposed to represent the best teams in Division I men’s basketball, shouldn’t the best teams be the ones to represent their conference?

While there are several teams in the NCAA tournament whose presence can be questioned, there is none more so than Iona.  For those of you who have never heard of Iona before, it is a college in New Rochelle, New York. The Iona Gaels finished the regular season first in the MAAC, but were eliminated by Fairfield in the MAAC tournament.

This is truly a case where you should hate the game, and not the player. While it is easy to identify Iona as the problem, it is the NCAA and the way the tournament is run that should be scrutinized more. 

Sure, the Washington Huskies did not beat any AP Top 25 teams this season. However, this season the Huskies lost to the No. 3 seed, Marquette, in the West region of the NCAA tournament by only one possession, 79-77.

This season, Washington also lost to the No. 2 seed in the South region, Duke, by only two possessions, 86-80.

Those were the only two games the Huskies had against AP Top 25 teams this season.

It is hard to swallow that a team that finishes first in a power-conference and was able to keep within one to two possessions of the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the NCAA tournament, did not get invited.

The selection committee barely even had Washington on their radar. Jeff Hathaway named the last six out as: Oral Roberts, Miami, Nevada, Drexel, Mississippi State, and Seton Hall.

In that sense, it was not even the Bonnies, who unexpectedly won an automatic bid, that kept the Huskies out of the NCAA tournament.

There was a clear lack of any respect for Pac-12 men’s basketball this year. It was far from the Pac-12’s best year, however, almost half of the Pac-12’s 12 losses to AP Top 25 teams were by two possessions or less. These were opponents like Syracuse, Duke and Florida.  The Pac-12 was not the bottom feeders they have been made out to be. 

In the end, Washington, Drexel, and Oral Roberts were left out of the NCAA tournament.

That is the nature of the game though. I wish I could say that in some years the system benefits teams and some it doesn’t. But since this is the first time in the modern configuration of the NCAA tournament for something like this to happen to a power-conference champion, that is not the case.

It would be nice for snubs to drive discussion on possible change to the NCAA tournament. Most notably, re-examining the RPI system.

Washington received a No. 1 seed in the NIT, Drexel received a No. 3 seed and Oral Roberts a No. 4 seed. These teams now have a chance to demonstrate if the selection committee was wrong in their decision to snub them.

While Washington will have plenty of chances in the future to improve and get wins over ranked opponents outside of the Pac-12 conference, the same cannot be said for mid-majors. 

If the system is never changed, regular-season champion mid-majors will likely encounter a similar experience every year.

The Pac-12, however, needs to take note of this season and get the non-conference wins the selection committee values so much. Either that, or teams can just win the conference tournament, because it doesn’t matter if a team loses every game in the regular season—they can still get in that way.

Great system. 

The Washington Huskies will head into the NIT as a No. 1 seed, and they will leave as champions. 

It just wasn't the year for the Pac-12, and that includes the best story in the conference, but there is no time to mope as Washington has one more shot at salvation.

The NIT may be the consolation prize for a program that had their sights set on the Big Dance, and there is certainly room to question the NCAA process. 

There is, of course, the questions the program will ask about their regular-season triumph and how little that means in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee. 

Even the most ardent supporter has to admit Washington had their shots and failed to capitalize on them. Consider the NIT as one last shining opportunity to make good on what was a fine season for the Huskies, and they are not about to blow it. 

The Huskies open play Tuesday against Texas-Arlington and will take their first steps to ripping back some semblance of respect. 

Backcourt Brilliance

The Huskies have two of the best guards in the NIT in Terrance Ross and Tony Wroten, and they will command a great deal of attention from defenses through the rest of March. 

Ross averaged 15.3 points and 6.6 boards per game during the regular season and can ignite for a big game at any time. In their final regular season game against USC, Ross had 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting and grabbed seven boards.

Wroten can be just as prolific and will fight for rebounds. The Huskies guard is not afraid to mix it up and get a little gritty, making him an aggressive star that will shine in the NIT. 

Defensive Stopper

On the other side of the court, the Huskies have the answer to stop all players hoping to drive the lane. 

When he is committed, there is hardly a better player at plugging the paint and changing shots than Aziz N'Diaye. 

N'Diaye makes the Huskies a tough team to get easy buckets on and is the reason they will kill a great deal of surges from the opposition. 

They are the most well-rounded team headed into the consolation dance, and will not let this brilliant opportunity pass them by. 

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Washington will hope to rebound from a rough month of March that saw them fall from NCAA Tournament team to a part of the first four teams out list.

Washington was named a No. 1 seed in the NIT Tournament Sunday following the Selection Sunday coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Other No. 1 seeds include Tennessee, Seton Hall and Arizona.

This is the Huskies' tournament to lose mostly because it was their NCAA Tournament bid to lose, as well. Looking back, a trip to the PAC-12 Tournament Championship may have been enough nudge them into the field of 68 teams. Yet the Huskies fell to lowly Oregon State in the opening round, pretty much signaling the end of their tournament bid hopes.

It is a shame, too. Washington's athleticism would have been enough to challenge most teams in the NCAA Tournament, just as they did back when Quincy Pondexter led them to the Sweet 16 in 2010.

They are a severe mismatch for most teams they come across, but it is the lack of intensity when it matters most that ultimately drives them to the loser's column. They simply looked past the most important games of their season, the last two.

Losses to UCLA in the final game of the regular season already put them in a hole for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but losing in the opening round of the weary PAC-12 Tournament to Oregon State was just the last straw for this team and their dancing hopes.

However, they do get a good chance to prove people wrong in the NIT Tournament.

They will host Texas-Arlington in the opening round, then the winner will play the winner of No. 4 Northwestern and No. 5 Akron.

If the Huskies are to run the table in their side of the bracket, they will have to get past Oregon and Dayton on their way.

But winning this tournament is expected out of them, with all the turmoil this team has been through over the past two weeks. Showing off that athleticism should be the key to winning the NIT Tournament.

There's no use crying over failed NCAA Tournament dreams, especially when you have an NIT Tournament to play in—which is precisely the situation Washington could find itself in, come Sunday night.

The Huskies, to some degree, are a picture-perfect example of a bubble team that will inevitably be passed over. They have those tell-tale early-season losses against teams like St. Louis and South Dakota State.

They were the best team in a borderline-weak conference. They posted a decent but not great regular-season record (21-10). They are notorious for starting out slow and finishing sloppy, losing tight conference games they really needed to win.

Take, for example, Washington's final two games of the season. A win against UCLA in the final regular-season matchup could've locked up a spot in the tournament, but in a matchup that was tight the whole way, Washington's Darnell Grant missed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left that would've given his team the lead.

Then, of course, there was the heartbreaking loss to Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament. The top-seeded Huskies were up by four with one minute left, but they missed 5-of-6 free throws that gave Oregon State enough second (and third and fourth) chances to win.

Getting bounced in the first round of your conference tournament is certainly not a good sign to the NCAA selection committee.

Granted, it will be kind of odd to see the regular-season conference champion snubbed, but it's happened. See: Boston College, 2002-03. I was watching in tears.

If one or two games had gone differently, it would be a different story for the Huskies. Do they deserve to dance? Maybe. Are there other teams from stacked conferences that deserve it more? Probably.

And that could be exactly what gets Washington a top seed—in the NIT.

The Washington Huskies are going to thrive in the tournament setting because their dynamic young NBA-ready players are going to lead the way. 

Sophomore Terrence Ross and freshman Tony Wroten are projected first round picks in the next NBA draft. Like in this mock where they are slotted 15th and 16th in the first round. 

They are the most explosive players in the conference, and when they are playing well, they are unguardable. 

They lead the Huskies in scoring. Wroten is putting up 16.3 points per game and Ross is checking in at 15.3. And they are both the heart of this team. 

Wroten can get to the lane at will. He is an elite athlete. He is inconsistent with his shot, but his ability to create makes up for it. 

Ross is not as good a play maker as Wroten, but he is a deadly spot up shooter and is athletic. He does an excellent job of playing without the ball.

Both guys are also excellent defenders. Wroten averages 2.0 steals per game, and Ross comes in with 1.3. Ross also isn't afraid to hit the boards. He is pulling down 6.6 rebounds per contest.  

Success in the tournament is about far more than stats. It is about performing in the bright lights against good teams, and Wroten has shown he can do that.

He showed that early in the season when he went for 23 against Duke. And he continued to answer this question down the stretch as he went for 22 points and nine rebounds against Arizona, and 14 points, five assists against UCLA in the final regular season game of the year. 

Ross also has proven time and again he is ready to rise to the occasion. He also has big time tournament experience.

As a freshman, in the Huskies narrow loss to North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA tournament last year, Ross put up 19 points and six rebounds. 

These guys are almost always going to have an athletic advantage over the man guarding them. They both like the ball in big moments. This invariably leads to great success in tournament settings.

And in case either of these players needed an extra shot of motivation, they will know that a strong postseason performance will boost their draft stack and line their pockets with an extra million or five. 

Washington won the regular-season Pac-12 title outright, and will receive the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 basketball tournament. Cal's 70-75 loss at Stanford allowed the Huskies to keep the lead following UW's 69-75 loss at UCLA.  Updated result posted March 4, 2012. The unedited article below was posted on March 2, 2012. 

Greatly increasing its chances for a 2012 NCAA tournament bid, the University of Washington men’s basketball team beat USC 80-58 Thursday night, clinching at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title.

If Washington (21-8, 14-3) wins at UCLA (17-13, 10-7) on Saturday, the Huskies will be the outright regular-season Pac-12 champion. Washington has won six of its last seven road games. 

Despite the recent negative media attention from the George Dohrmann Sports Illustrated article, UCLA is coming off a big win (78-46) Thursday night over Washington State. With UW beating UCLA at home in a close (71-69) game last month, the Bruins are not likely to just hand Washington an easy road win, in what promises to be a great game. 

A loss against UCLA would place the outcome on the Cal-Stanford game. The Golden Bears (23-7, 13-4) face the Stanford Cardinal (19-10, 9-8) on March 4th in their final regular-season game. Cal beat Stanford at home 69-59 back in January. Cal’s 57-70 loss at Colorado knocked the Bears out of a shared position with Washington at the top of the Pac-12.

In addition to a 74-50 road win over Colorado last week, Stanford held its own in a two possession loss to then-No. 5 Syracuse back in November.

Washington’s win over USC resulted the fourth consecutive year in which the Huskies have earned either the Pac regular-season or tournament title. The Huskies’ streak started in 2009 when UW won the regular-season Pac-10 title outright. This is also the fourth straight year for Washington to win 20 or more games, a first for the Huskies. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2OYWy3tTY

If Washington ends up with a share of the conference title, instead of an outright championship, Cal will get the No. 1 seed advantage in the Pac-12 Conference tournament.

Washington, known more for its football program than basketball, had a major turnaround with the hiring of Head Coach Lorenzo Romar back in 2002. At a time when Washington football was beginning a historic low, UW basketball made historic strides. Romar, a former Husky and NBA player, first took UW to the NCAA tournament in 2004. 

Under the direction of Coach Romar, Washington has made six of its 16 NCAA tournament appearances. Notable accolades during that time include: a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed in 2005, and Sweet 16 appearances in 2005, 2006, and 2010. 

Last year the Huskies beat Georgia 68-65 in the tournament, before losing to No. 2 seed North Carolina 83-86. It should be noted that the Huskies one-possession tournament loss to the Tar Heels occurred in North Carolina.

After a two-possession loss to Duke earlier this season, the Blue Devils coach, Mike Krzyzewski, had this to say about the Huskies: “We beat a really talented Washington team…They played really good basketball…”

Coach Romar is very good at recruiting. This year, a lot of attention has been on freshman, and Washington point leader, Tony Wroten. Wroten is very talented, but still a young player.

While rumors of Tony Wroten (16.3 PPG), and teammate sophomore Terrence Ross (15.2 PPG), going to the NBA after this season abound, Washington is looking to only focus on the current season. Ross scored 18 points in last night's match. Of interest, 17 NBA teams had reserved seats in the NBA scouts section at the Washington at USC game. 

Other notable Huskies on this young squad include: sophomore C.J. Wilcox (13.6 PPG), junior Aziz N'Diaye (8.2 PPG), junior Abdul Gaddy (8 PPG), and senior Darnell Gant (7.3 PPG).

Numerous media outlets have been laughing at the Pac-12 this year, referring to it as a 1-bid conference. Even going as far to call the Pac-12 “a bunch of NIT teams.” While not the Pac-12's best year, the Pac should not be underestimated.

Every top team in the NCAA has had games this year where they lost to lesser teams.

Syracuse only beat Stanford by two possessions. Duke had to make a big rally to come back against NC State. Mizzou lost to both Kansas State and Kansas last week. Michigan State lost to Indiana this week. No. 1 Kentucky even trailed Vanderbilt for a while this past Saturday.

This season, the Huskies only lost to Duke by two possessions, and Marquette by one. Washington (50 RPI) and Cal (38 RPI) will almost certainly be in the NCAA tournament. It's March Madness, and any team can go in and tear it up. Just look at VCU going from the first round all the way to the Final Four, or Arizona going to the Elite Eight last year.

Several of the Pac-12 teams have a reasonable chance of winning the conference tournament, or receiving an at-large bid. In addition to Washington and Cal, Oregon (21-8, 12-5) currently has a 45 RPI ranking, and Arizona (21-9, 12-5) has a 68 RPI ranking. 

It is almost a non-argument questioning if Washington will receive a bid to the NCAA tournament if they don’t also win the conference tournament. The last time a regular season Pac conference champion did not received a spot was in 1958. During that time only one team per conference was allowed.

Will Lorenzo Romar lead the Huskies to their first NCAA tournament championship at some point during his head coach tenure, a feat that would put him on par with famed Huskies coach, Don James, who brought a national championship to UW football?

Only time will tell. 

Whatever the outcome of this season, it can be expected that Coach Romar, and the Washington squads under his charge, will continue to build a Husky men’s basketball dynasty in the Pac.

If the Pac-12 is going to vault four squads into the NCAA tourney, Saturday's Arizona vs. Washington matchup needed to be a showcase of what was expected when the year started:

Two of the perennially-top programs on the West Coast, featuring the deepest collection of highly-rated recruits in the conference—including projected first-round NBA draft prospects Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross—in a fast-paced showdown to stay in the hunt for the Pac-12 regular-season championship.

That's exactly what played out, with Wroten and Ross confirming their pro potential in what was a relatively comfortable 79-70 victory, Arizona's five game-winning streak coming to an end in Seattle.

Ross and Wroten combined for 49 points and 14 rebounds, the latter taking over the game in the second half.

According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Washington was one of the last four in the tournament before beating Arizona, meaning the victory over the Wildcats will solidify their slot, possibly allowing them to bypass the play-in game.

Washington should not be that close to the edge to begin with, as owners of the most-loaded roster in the conference. The Huskies have underachieved at times given the riches coach Lorenzo Romar has at his disposal, but they looked motivated and dangerous against Arizona on Saturday.

Wroten is the Pac-12's premier freshman and will likely be the conference's highest NBA draft pick.

Ross is a pure shooter and a smooth athlete—another projected NBA first-rounder—who also is a sound defender, snaring five steals against the Wildcats.

Abdul Gaddy entered Washington as one of the most sought-after point guard recruits in the nation, spurning Arizona for Seattle. And he's become an effective, if not flashy, distributor.

Washington also flaunts a mountain of a center in 7'0" Aziz N'Diaye, a severe matchup headache for the smallish Wildcats, who pulled down 12 rebounds against Arizona.

And they cap it all with an elite long-range sniper in C.J. Wilcox.

The Huskies are long and talented, a tourney sleeper.

Meanwhile, Arizona was a No. 11 seed as of yesterday via the ESPN "bracketologist," making its last three regular-season games—against USC, UCLA and ASU—crucial, with a prolonged Pac-12 tourney run bolstering their seed.

That's stable ground compared to how the team started the year.

Washington's two-point victory in Tucson last month seemed like a near-fatal slap to Arizona's NCAA tourney odds, the second of three-straight Saturdays in which the Wildcats lost by a combined five points.

But Arizona has found its identity in February, stifling defensive pressure, shutting down the opposition on the perimeter and leading to cleaner opportunities on the offensive end. The roles are now defined and being played with enough intensity to overcome size and depth deficiencies, leading to five-straight wins before Saturday:

Solomon Hill has emerged as the team's star, a possible All-Pac-12 player.

Kyle Fogg is a viable scoring option and increasingly becoming comfortable in the clutch.

Power forward Jesse Perry is a consistent scorer/rebounder and a calming influence.

Brendan Lavender is suddenly the best three-point shooter in the conference.

Angelo Chol has become Arizona's closest thing resembling a center, showing off his potential defensively in the blocks category.

And the backcourt duo of Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner are starting to resemble the 5-star recruits they were hyped as in high school.

Arizona is the only team to win at California this year, and the Golden Bears are currently resting atop the conference, in large part due to a massive victory in Seattle over these Huskies.

As huge as Arizona's win in Berkeley was, a win in Seattle would have been of equal importance and difficulty.

The Cal win is the most impressive W on the Arizona schedule, so adding a victory against the conference's second-best team on the road would have been a resume boost.

But it's not devastating.

As of Feb. 17, Arizona was in, according to Lunardi.

And a loss to Washington should not change much, besides increasing the pressure to win the last three games.

Arizona should enter all of them as the favorite, though the UCLA matchup is not kind to the smallish Arizona lineup. That was evidenced by the beating the Wildcats took in Los Angeles, a game where the Bruins' massive center Josh Smith was sidelined with a concussion.

Smith is back, and the Wear brothers, who wore out Arizona in the first matchup, will be flanking him, making that the new biggest game of the season.

Arizona must win out in the last three games of the regular season to safely lock down a tourney berth.