Challenge for Arizona Basketball will be how they respond

Following their beatdown at the hands of Colorado, the challenge for Arizona Basketball will be how they respond on Tuesday against USC.

Well, Arizona Basketball has come crashing back down to reality as the Wildcats were thrashed by the Buffaloes in Boulder on Saturday evening.

Entering their Pac-12 showdown, the Wildcats were riding a nine-game winning streak and were hoping to clinch the Pac-12 regular-season title. Unfortunately, that did not happen as Arizona was defeated, 79-63 in dominant fashion.

Luckily, Arizona wasn’t the only team to fall on Saturday evening, as in historic fashion, all six of the top-ranked teams in the country were also upset.

And while Arizona losing just their third game on the season isn’t by any means concerning; however, the fashion in which the Wildcats lost, where there was seemingly little effort and interest in the game at hand is what was concerning.

At this point, there are just a handful of games left until March Madness starts, and the real work is just now beginning for the Wildcats.

And a big test for Arizona Basketball will be how they respond when they return to action on Tuesday evening for a marquee showdown with No. 16 USC.

So far this season, Arizona has seldom been tested. And as they have also shown at times this year, when they face better competition on the road, they have a tougher time.

And coming into this matchup, the stakes are high. Arizona is fresh off a 16-point thumping at the hands of Colorado and they will take on a hungry and motivated No. 16 Trojans team in Los Angeles.

An outright regular-season conference championship is on the line for Arizona, as well as a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Generally, this team has responded well to adversity, but as the intensity and stakes ramp up, we will see just how this team responds. And their first big test is to see how they handle No. 16 USC on the road in front of a sold-out crowd, especially as the Cats are coming off of a big loss.