Arizona Wildcats Sweet 17: #5 1989 vs. #12 1990

Welcome back to the Arizona Wildcats Sweet 17 tournament. We have chosen 6 of the Elite 8 so far, so it is time to fill another slot. Last time, we saw the 1988 team advance easily over the 1999 team.

This week, we’re going back about 25 years to look at a game between two teams that were only separated by one summer: the 1989 and 1990 Arizona Wildcats teams. First, let’s look at the bracket.

Sweet 17 Updated Bracket

Now, let’s take a look at the lineups and records for this week’s teams:

#5 1989 Arizona Wildcats vs. #12 1990 Arizona Wildcats

1989 Profile: 29-4 (17-1, 1st in Pac-10, won Pac-10 tournament); NCAA Tournament #1 seed, lost to #4 UNLV in Sweet 16 68-67

Starters:Sean Elliott (SR), Anthony Cook (SR), Jud Buechler (JR), Matt Muehlebach (SO), Kenny Lofton (SR)

Key Bench: Matt Othic (FR), Sean Rooks (FR), Harvey Mason (JR)

1990 Profile: 25-7 (15-3, 1st in Pac-10, won Pac-10 tournament); NCAA Tournament #2 seed, lost to #7 Alabama in Round of 32 77-55

Starters: Jud Buechler (SR), Matt Muehlebach (JR), Brian Williams (JR), Matt Othic (SO), Ed Stokes (FR)

Key Bench: Sean Rooks (SO), Wayne Womack (SO), Harvey Mason (SR), Brian David (SR)

You can see that even with only a year separating the teams, the lineups are vastly different. Arizona subtracted out Elliott, Cook, and Lofton, but the Wildcats were able to add a transferring Williams and newcomer Stokes. Rooks’s minutes improved, and Othic proved to be a worthy starting point guard. But, is that enough to overcome the loss of Elliott and Cook? Will we see a classic 5/12 upset here?

It is your turn to vote. Get your votes in now, and we’ll let you know what we think, factor in your votes, and tell you the winner later this week.