Arizona VahşiKedileri

Genelde basketbola pek yer vermiyoruz burada ama içimden geldi. Mike Bibby, Richard Jefferson, Jason Terry, Luke Walton ve Gilbert Arenas (Iguadola, Loren Woods filan saymıyorum zaten) gibi yıldızların formasını giydiği Arizona Wildcats, kötü geçen bir normal sezon ardından, son anda katılmayı hak ettiği NCAA turnuvasında "Tatlı 16"ya kaldı. Bu gece 02:07'den itibaren Ntvspor'da seyredemiyoruz malesef, Oklahoma-Syracuse maçını yayınlayacaklar. Belki son dakika bir değişiklik olur mu olur. Okulun sayfasından Wildcats'in turnuva geçmişine dair bazı ilginç bilgiler aşağıda. Gelecek vadeden kısaların gelmeyi sevdiği okulların başındadır Arizona, efsane koç Lute Olson ayrıldı ama 25 yıllık geleneği bozmayıp turnuvaya döndüler.

This is Arizona's 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, which is the longest active streak and second longest tournament appearance streak in NCAA history. The streak trails only North Carolina, which made 27 straight appearances from 1975-2001.

Since seeding was introduced in 1985, Arizona has a 6-5 record against No. 1 seeds. Interestingly, the Wildcats have more wins against the top seed than it does against any other seed in the tournament. Those six wins are more than it has against seeds 2-4 combined (five). The last time the UA faced a No. 1 seed was March 19, 2006, in an 82-78 loss to Villanova in the Minneapolis Region's second round.

When looking at Arizona's tournament history, it hasn't played as a seeded underdog too often. Since 1985, the Wildcats have played a total of 64 NCAA Tournament games, and only 19 of those had Arizona as the lower seed. The UA has an 8-11 (.421) record in those contests. Friday's game is the widest gap in seeds (1 vs. 12) with Arizona as the lower seeded team in the UA's tournament history.

Arizona captured its 20th and 21st wins of the season last weekend in Miami to post the 31st 20-win season in school history and the 21st in the last 22 seasons. Only last year's club, who posted a 19-15 record, failed to win 20 games in that span. Since the start of the 1984-85 season, Arizona has averaged 24.8 wins per season. The program has also won 41 NCAA Tournament games in the last quarter century.