NCAA Tournament: Arizona didn’t show up, one round and done

The NCAA Tournament came and went in a flash on Thursday night; the Arizona Wildcats lost in the first round.

The stage was set, the Cats traveled to Rhode Island to play the Wichita Shockers or Vanderbilt. Fans prayed for Vanderbilt; the media predicted Wichita State, and they were right. They were also right about a possible upset although Wildcats fans held out hope, and went in positive.

The team went in positive too, dancing too early in the locker room before the game! After all, T.J. McConnell wished the team luck, how could anything go wrong?

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The Cats were asleep in the first half.  Shell shocked. Some said Allonzo Trier was playing selfishly, trying out for the NBA. They may have a point, but we have no idea what his coach told him to do. The Shockers were playing suffocating defense; the Cats could only muster 19 points, shooting 27%.

Miller had soaked through his dress shirt in the first five minutes of the game; thankfully he had a spare which he changed into coming out of halftime.

Gabe York racked up three fouls with 16:30 to go, and Miller kept him in. Who was going to pump up the team? Ryan Anderson hadn’t got going yet, and Allonzo wasn’t passing. It was hard to watch because it seemed no one was hustling for the ball on possible rebounds. The Wildcats state of affairs was dismal at best, they needed to find some sense of urgency, but couldn’t and fell behind by 16 points 43-27.

Former Wildcats started chiming in.

Matt Moreno and Justin Spears summed it up.

It got worse, and fans started throwing in the towel. Too bad they couldn’t throw it into their TV’s for Miller, he had soaked through his second dress shirt. He was still trending on Twitter, hours later. The Shockers were putting on a clinic on defense and the Cats were folding.

Out of the blue, with 11:00 minutes to go, Zeus came alive and blocked a shot, Parker Jackson-Cartwright followed with a three-pointer! A run was brewing, there was a chance, but it was short-lived.

Wichita State went four minutes without a basket; Arizona had gone on an 11 point run; Shockers were still ahead 53-38. Then Ryan Anderson slammed in a dunk, and we had thirteen point game; Wichita 53-40!

The Shockers started slowing down the game, as expected.

It was one of ‘those’ game, every time a call could’ve gone Arizona’s way, it just didn’t. This was the worst game Arizona had played all season, what happened to them?

There was no leader on this team, no one stepped up to be the leader, pure and simple. Selfishness didn’t help either, playing ‘me ball’ instead of ‘we ball.’ Sean Miller did everything he could do, but he couldn’t right the ship completely, no matter how much he tried.

Somehow the Cats brought the score to within 11 points, 60-49, a little too late. Zeus blocked the ball, but York couldn’t convert the three. If that three went in the game would have changed.

The Shockers in the bonus fouled York and proceeded to make both of their free throws, deficit down to nine points, 60-51. There was a sliver of light.

Zeus came up with another block, and the fans started chanting U of A. The refs said Gabe turned the ball over, even though he hadn’t on second look, but that was the call and the Cats 19th turnover.

Nothing Arizona could do but foul to stop the clock, and Morris made his free-throws. Arizona now down 11 again,62-51. Allonzo gave the ball to Kaleb, and he slammed home a dunk. Cats had outscored the Shockers by three points in the second half 34-31.

Now down to 29.4 seconds left, both teams in the double bonus, but the deficit was to large to overcome with intentional fouling.

Miller pulled his seniors who were visibly upset and threw towels over their heads. Arizona lost by ten points, 65-55.

That’s it; the 2016 season is over. Frankly, we are relieved, aren’t we? This season was one of the most frustrating, injury prone, chemistry-less, leaderless teams in Arizona history. What a year, the football team had issues, then the basketball team. It’s got to get better next season.

What’s sad is that these Cats had so much potential, so much. As a team they just couldn’t string together a run, you never knew what team was showing up. Thinking back, their chemistry was challenged by losing a great defensive threat in Elliott Pitts. Allonzo, Kaleb, and Kadeem left holes in the lineup when recuperating from injury. Hard to get the chemistry going under those circumstances.

Ben Berger offered fans this little nugget; it may make you feel a little better:

We say goodbye to our seniors; we will especially miss our 4-5 year guys Gabe, Kaleb, and Jacob, and wish them luck. We will also miss Ryan Anderson, Mark Tollefsen and Elliott Pitts. We thank them all for all the great memories.

Grab a tissue before you watch this final press conference for Gabe and Kaleb, it’s touching and heartfelt.

The fact that these two athletes care so much is a testament to Sean Miller and A Players Program. Hopefully, they will remember their last game at McKale and not this loss.

Millers post-game press conference, and final comments about his team, his senors, and the Shockers.

Chin up Wildcats fans and BearDown!