Big Apple Bound: The Arizona Wildcats (2-0/No. 9 USA Today/ESPN) look to take one more step in their attempt for a third consecutive Preseason National Invitation Tournament title when they head to New York City and face Notre Dame (3-0) this Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. EST (4 p.m. Tucson time). It will be the first game of the semi-final doubleheader, preceding Maryland (No. 22 USA Today/ESPN) vs. Kentucky (No. 10 USA Today/ESPN), which is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. EST (6 p.m. MST). Arizona advanced to the semi-final game after downing New Mexico State last Friday, 84-60. As for the Fighting Irish, they beat Siena at home after upsetting Ohio State in round one to get their invite to Gotham -- and are coming off a 73-60 win over St. Francis in action outside the NIT last Sunday. This will be the second time Arizona and Notre Dame have met in a Preseason NIT semi-final game -- the first came in 1990, when Arizona won 91-61, en route to the first of its two Preseason NIT championships. The two semi-final victors will meet for the championship on Friday, Nov. 26, at 9 p.m. EST. (7 p.m. MST), while the consolation game is at 6:45 p.m. that evening. All games will be played in Madison Square Garden.

Television & Radio for the NIT: The Arizona-Notre Dame contest will be televised on ESPN... John Saunders will do the play-by-play and Dick Vitale handles the color commentary... The same crew will also do the Kentucky/Maryland game, as well as the championship on Friday night (the consolation game will not be televised)...The Wildcats' games can also be heard on KNST radio in Tucson (790 AM) and on each of the 11 other Arizona Wildcat Network affiliates across the Southwest... Brian Jeffries and Ryan Hansen handle the radio coverage of UA basketball on the road.

Series History: This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Arizona and Notre Dame, with the UA leading the series 2-1... The teams last met on Dec. 21, 1994, in the first round of the Maui Invitational... Arizona won that game 98-79, but would go on to lose in the tournament's title game to another team in this year's Preseason NIT semi-finals -- Kentucky... The first-ever meeting between Arizona and Notre Dame was in the 1933-34 season... Notre Dame won in South Bend, 46-24... The only other time the two teams played was in the aforementioned Preseason NIT semi-final on Nov. 21, 1990.

UA's Probable Starting Lineup:  1999-00 Stats
                                Ht.     Wt.     Yr-Exp. PPG     RPG     APG/BPG
F  21   Michael Wright          6-7     238     So.-1L  17.5    11.5     2.0 apg
F  44   Richard Jefferson       6-7     222     So.-1L  13.0      5.5    1.5 apg
C   3   Loren Woods             7-1     230     Jr.-TR  14.0      5.5    2.5 bpg
G   0   Gilbert Arenas          6-3     191     Fr.-HS  12.0      3.5    4.5 apg
G  22   Jason Gardner           5-10    178     Fr.-HS  13.0      3.5    6.0 apg

Arizona's Last Action: The Wildcats advanced to New York City after beating New Mexico State by a score of 84-60, last Friday night before 14,536 fans in McKale Center. The win was aided by the performance of sophomore power forward Michael Wright, who scored a career-high 24

WILDCAT CALENDAR

Mon, Nov. 22 - Team leaves for New York City at 5:01 p.m. on board America
West #2227 to Phoenix. After a stop there, the team arrives at Newark
Airport at 12:50 a.m. on board America West #2686. The team will stay at
the Marriott Marquis () and Arizona basketball SID Brett Hansen
will travel with the team.

Tues., Nov. 23 - Preseason NIT press conference - noon at the Marriott
Marquis, Astor Room. All four head coaches plus a player from each team
will be in attendance.

Wed, Nov. 24 - Preseason NIT Semi-Final versus Notre Dame - 6 p.m. EST -
Madison Square Garden. Kentucky vs. Maryland follows at 8 p.m. EST, ESPN
televises both.

Fri, Nov. 26 - NIT consolation   game will be at 6:45 p.m. and the
championship is at 9 p.m. EST; ESPN televises title game.

Sat., Nov. 27 - Team returns to Tucson, arriving at 5:40 p.m. - America
West flight #2438 from Phoenix..

Wed., Dec. 1 - Home game versus Brigham Young; 9 p.m.
Fox Sports Net televises

Arizona's Preseason NIT History: The Wildcats have an all-time record of 10-1 in the Preseason NIT and have won the title in two of the three years they have played in it... Arizona enters Wednesday's match-up game with a 10-game winning streak in this tourney... In this streak, UA has won by an average margin of 19.7 ppg (91.3-to-71.6)... In the Preseason NIT, Arizona is 5-0 at home, 1-1 on the road and 4-0 in New York City... Here is a look at the Wildcats' NIT results:

1986    Lost at UNLV            92-87           First Round
1990    Beat Austin Peay       122-80           First Round
        Beat E. Tenn. State     88-79           Second Round
        Beat Notre Dame         91-61           Semi-Finals
        Beat Arkansas           89-77           Finals
1995    Beat Long Beach State   91-57           First Round
        Won at Arkansas         83-73           Second Round
        Beat Michigan           86-79           Semi-Finals
        Beat Georgetown         91-81           Finals
1999    Beat Kansas State       88-69           First Round
        Beat New Mexico St.     84-60           Second Round

The Last Arizona-Notre Dame Meeting: When these two teams last met on Dec. 21, 1993, it was the first round of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center... The 13th ranked and 6-0 Wildcats won 98-79 and were led by the 32-point performance of Khalid Reeves... He hit five three pointers and added six rebounds... Damon Stoudamire and Ray Owes added 16 points each and Reggie Geary chipped in with 12... After owning a 44-40 lead at the half, Arizona outscored the Fighting Irish 54-39 in the second half on the strength of a .570 field goal percentage... The John MacLeod-coached Irish were led by Jason Williams, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ryan Hoover added 17 points.

Lute Olson is within reach of a pair of coaching milestones... He is 11 wins away for career win No. 600 and three from win No. 400 at Arizona... Here is a look at his milestone career victories:

Win     Date    Team    Opponent        Score
   1    12-1-73 LBSU    Puget Sound     84-55
 100    2-3-79  Iowa    Minnesota       97-71
 200    2-25-84 Arizona Oregon St.      69-58
 300    3-27-88 Arizona North Carolina  70-52
 400    2-13-93 Arizona Washington St.  94-72
 500    2-11-96 Arizona Cincinnati      79-76

Coach O: Lute Olson (Augsburg '56) is his 17th season as the head coach at Arizona and his 27th overall as a head coach... This season will see him reach of number of milestones in what has become a Hall of Fame type coaching career... Last week's game against Kansas State was the 800th of his collegiate Division IA career... He has a career record of 589-212 (.735), while his mark in Tucson stands at 397-120 (.768) and he has made Arizona one the dominant programs in the country... He needs just 11 more wins for career win No. 600, which would make him one of just 33 coaches in NCAA history to win 600 or more games... With three more wins, he will reach 400 for his Arizona career (these numbers may differ from what the NCAA coaching totals list, because as opposed to the Pac-10 Conference, the NCAA does not count forfeits as wins on head coaching records, as the case is with two UA losses to Cal in 1995 and 1996, which were later changed to wins... the same holds true with a game when Olson was at Iowa, when there was a forfeit by Wisconsin in 1983 that changed a loss into a win)... During his 17-year tenure at Arizona, the Wildcats have won one national championship (1997), gone to three Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997), won eight Pac-10 Conference titles and been to the NCAA Tournament for the past 15 years in a row, which is the second longest streak in NCAA history (North Carolina, 25)... He also led Iowa to the 1980 Final Four... He has been named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year six times (1986, 88, 89, 93, 94, 98), the Big-10 Coach of the Year twice (1979 & 81) and directed the UA program to the nation's best winning percentage over the past 12 years... His Pac-10 record stands at 223-65 (.774) and he is one of just six coaches in league history to win 200 or more conference games... He has the second-best conference winning percentage in Pac-10 history (minimum three years), trailing only John Wooden (.810/304-74)... Prior to coming to Arizona, he was at Iowa for nine years where he owned a 168-90 mark and before that, he was at Long Beach State for one season (1973-74), where he went 24-2... In his collegiate career, he has produced 35 NBA Draft picks, including 20 at Arizona - 15 alone on the 1990s... He has led Arizona to 12 consecutive 20-win seasons and has 21 overall in his career... Under Olson, the Cats have gone 245-25 (.907) during his career in McKale Center and have won 174 of their last 184 home games.

Garden Party: Madison Square Garden has definitely been kind to Arizona of late... Winners of their past four games staged in the "World's Most Famous Arena" the Cats last appearance was on Nov. 24, 1995, when they beat fifth-ranked Georgetown for the 1995 Preseason NIT championship... Although G'Town's Allen Iverson went off for 40 points, the 19th-ranked UA held the rest of the Hoyas in check (the next high scorer had seven points) to post a 91-81 win... Arizona had six players score in double figures, led by sophomore Miles Simon, ans seniors Joseph Blair and Ben Davis, who each had 17... In the semi-final win that year, the Cats downed 16th-ranked Michigan, 86-79... Simon once again led the Cats in scoring with 21, while Davis had 17 and Blair netted 16 off the bench... The other Preseason NIT title was in 1990 when Arizona beat Arkansas in the championship (89-77) and Notre Dame in the semi-final (91-61)... Prior to these wins, Arizona played in Madison Square Garden way back in the 1940s & 50s... They lost three post-season NIT games (Kentucky, 1946; LaSalle, 1950; Dayton, 1951).

The UA's record of 322-74 over the course of the past 12 years gives it the nation's best winning percentage during that span (.813).

Notre Dame Notes: The Irish stand at 3-0 on the season after winning at fourth-ranked Ohio State, beating Siena at home last Thursday and playing a non-Preseason NIT game on Sunday, beating St. Francis, 73-60... They are under the command of first-year head coach Matt Doherty... He came to South Bend after spending seven seasons as an assistant under Roy Williams at Kansas, preceded by three years as an assistant at Davidson... Doherty was on the sidelines for three Kansas-Arizona games... The first was in the 1996 NCAA West Regional - KU won 83-80... The next was the Wildcats' upset of the top-seeded Jayhawks in the 1997 NCAA Southeast Regional (that was the year Arizona won the NCAA title) and then at the 1997 Great Eight in Chicago... Kansas beat Arizona in that one, 90-87... A member of the Big East Conference, the Irish return three starters from last season's 14-16 team... One is sophomore Troy Murphy, who was the Big East Newcomer of the Year last season... He was also a Freshman All-American last season, as was Arizona's Michael Wright... Murphy scored 31 points in the win over Siena last Thursday (15-of-18 from the FT line) and responded with 35 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday versus St Francis (14-of-18 FG)... The other returning starters are junior point guard Martin Ingelsby and sophomore forward David Graves.

Against the NIT Field: In addition to its 2-1 advantage over Notre Dame, Arizona is 2-2 all-time versus Kentucky and 2-0 against Maryland... The UA has beaten Kentucky twice in a row, downing the Cats in the second round of the 1997 Maui Invitational (89-74) and then earlier that calendar year in a rather historic game for Arizona basketball -- the 1997 NCAA championship game at Indianapolis (84-79/ot)... The other games were in the 1993 Maui Invitational when Kentucky won at the buzzer (93-92) and then another UK win, way back in the 1946 NIT (77-53) at New York City... The UA's last game with Maryland was in the 1998 NCAA Tournament... No. 1 seeded Arizona beat the Terrapins in the Sweet 16 at Anaheim, Calif., 87-79... Prior to that, the only other meeting was on Dec. 27, 1963... The Wildcats won in a first round game of the Evansville Tournament in Evansville, Ind., 57-54.

McKale Magic: Arizona currently has the nation's fourth-longest active home winning streak... The Wildcats have won 34 consecutive home games, trailing only Murray State (42), Duke (36) and Utah (35)... The last loss was a 66-64 defeat to UCLA on Feb. 13, 1997... The streak includes two this year, all 14 home games last season, 15 in 1997-98 and the final three of the 1996-97 campaign... Further, Arizona has won 45 of its last 46 home games and is 174-10 in McKale Center since the 1987-88 season... During that time, the Cats have lost just two non-conference games (Arkansas, 1992-93 & Syracuse, 1995-96)... Overall, Arizona has won 20 consecutive non-conference home games... Last year was the ninth season in history that Arizona went undefeated at home... Arizona owns an all-time record of 338-64 (.841) in McKale Center. This will be the 12th season Arizona basketball has been sold out in McKale Center on a season-ticket basis... Only 10 pairs of mid-level tickets and 20 pairs of upper level tickets were not renewed for this year.

Pac-10 Team of the Decade???: Arizona has the most wins of any Pac-10 team in the 1990s (258) and was won five Pac-10 Conference crowns and tied for one other... UCLA is second with four conference titles this decade... Arizona's winning percentage of .794 (258-67) in the 1990s is the third-best in the country, trailing only Kansas (.827; 287-60) and Kentucky (.818; 284-63)... For conference games only, Arizona record of 140-40 in the best in the league, with UCLA at No. 2 with a 134-47 mark... The Cats have been to the NCAA Tournament each year this decade and won it all in 1997... There have been 18 All-Pac-10 first team selections from Arizona and four Pac-10 Players of the Year... Arizona has not recorded a double-digit loss total since 1986-87... The Wildcats' seven All-Americans during the 1990s trails only Duke's 10... UA and North Carolina are tied for second-most All-Americans in the 1990s.

Arizona in 1999-00 Polls/Week-by-Week

Date    Record  AP              USA Today/ESPN
Pre.    0-0     #9              #9
11/15   1-0     #10             #9
11/22   3-0     TBA             #9

Cat Scratches: Under Lute Olson, the Wildcats have gone 34-6 in the month of November... Of Arizona's five starters, you have two sophomores (Wright/Jefferson) who have combined for 57 career games, two true freshman (Gardner/Arenas) and a junior who had never played for the Cats until this season (Woods)... Dating back to the first round loss of the 1986 Big Apple NIT, Arizona has won 63 of its last 68 games that have been played as part of an in-season tournament (i.e. Preseason NIT, Maui Invitational, Great Eight, Great Alaska Shootout, Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic, Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic, etc., etc.)... Since the start of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats own a record of 60-12... Overall, Arizona has been ranked in the regular season Top-25 rankings for 201 straight weeks... The Cats have outscored their two opponents so far by 21.5 ppg... Arizona has had all five starters score in double figures in both games of the year... Michael Wright's jersey appears in ESPN Magazine's college basketball preview, along with other jerseys of the top players in the country... The design is a take-off of the Blair Witch Project movie, which portrays the nation's "scariest players"... Please note that Jason Gardner's birthdate is Nov. 14, not Nov. 4, as the personal section in his bio states... Dating back to the start of the 1997-98 season, Arizona has been ranked in the top-10 in 34 of the last 40 polling periods... Arizona is 30-0 when Josh Pastner plays, hence the term "A Pastner Game" applies whenever the Wildcats win big.

UA Injury Report: Luke Recker, who is redshirting this season as a transfer, has been medically cleared to return to full basketball participation after having been involved in rehabilitation, conditioning and limited practice situations since the start of practice on Oct. 16, due to the broken wrist he sustained in a car wreck this summer... He was examined by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jon Wang and all restrictions were removed on Nov. 9... He will continue his rehab, but not be restricted from participation in any basketball activities.

Pac-10 Prognostications: The Wildcats were picked to win the 1 Pac-10 Conference title, according to a poll of media members who regularly cover the league... The poll showed Arizona getting 32 of the possible 36 first-place votes, edging No. 2 UCLA, who received three first place votes and No. 3 Stanford, which garnered one first place vote... Following the top-three were Oregon, Oregon State, California, USC, Arizona State, Washington and Washington State. This poll has correctly picked the Pac-10 Champion for five years in a row and Arizona has now been the preseason No. 1 pick six times since the poll was started back in 1989.

Douglas To Transfer: Wildcat sophomore guard Ruben Douglas was granted his request for a release from his scholarship University of Arizona at the University of Arizona by the UA coaching staff on Nov. 14. He will continue his course work at the UA for the rest of the fall semester with the intent to transfer after that period. Douglas, a 6-foot-4-inch guard from Altadena, Calif. (Bellarmine-Jefferson High School), was one of three returning starters for the Wildcats this season. Last year as a freshman, he started in 14 games at the off-guard position and averaged 8.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 Freshman Team selection as well.

1 Preseason Rankings

The Sporting News - 5th
Basketball News - 7th
Blue Ribbon College Yearbook - 7th
AP - 9th
ESPN/USA Today - 9th
Sports Illustrated - 9th
Street & Smith's - 9th                   
Sport Magazine - 9th
Playboy - 11th
ESPN.com - 13th
Basketball Times - 13th
Lindy's College Sports - 18th

Picked to finish first in the Pac-10 - The Sporting News
Picked to finish first in the Pac-10 - Basketball News
Picked to finish first in the Pac-10 - Athlon Sports
Picked to finish first in the Pac-10 - Street & Smith's
Picked to finish first in the Pac-10 - Sport Magazine

The Sporting News No. 3 Frontcourt in the Country
Lindy's College Basketball No. 5 Frontcourt in the Country 
Street & Smith's No. 2 Frontcourt in the Country

Individual Rankings
Michael Wright
* The Sporting News No. 2 Power Forward in the Country 
* The Sporting News Pac-10 All-Conference First Team
* Pac-10's Best NBA Prospect - The Sporting News
* Street & Smith's No. 3 Power Forward in the Country
* Street & Smith's All-Pac-10 Team
* Basketball News All-Pac-10 First Team
* Basketball News No. 6 "Banger" in the Country
* Athlon Sports All-Pac-10 First Team
* Lindy's No. 8 Power Forward in the Country 
* "All Class of 2002" (Sophomores Who May Be Raw But Have Serious Skills),
Sport Magazine
Loren Woods
* The Sporting News No. 6 Center in the Country
* The Sporting News Pac-10 All-Conference Team
* The Sporting News Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year 
* Athlon Sports All-Pac-10 Second Team
* Athlon Sports Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year 
* Lindy's No. 8 Center in the Country 
* "All-Witness Protection" (Impact Transfers Whose Time is Now), Sport
Magazine
Richard Jefferson
* Athlon Sports All-Pac-10 Third Team
* Lindy's No. 14 Small Forward in the Country 
Jason Gardner
* Basketball News Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year
* Street & Smith's Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year

Captains Elected: Senior Josh Pastner and junior Loren Woods were selected captains for this year's team in voting that was done by their teammates.

Both Major Preseason Polls Released: The Associated Press (media) and USA Today/ESPN (coaches) released their preseason men's basketball Top-25 and Arizona was the No. 9 pick in both sets of rankings (but fell to 10th in the AP poll in the second poll after not even playing game)... It was the seventh time that the Wildcats have been among top-10 in the preseason polls... Arizona was the No. 1 pick in 1997-98, No. 3 in 1990-91, No. 5 in 1991-92, No. 5 in 1994-95, No. 6 in 1989-90 and No. 10 in 1992-93.

Counting Classes: The 1 Arizona basketball roster is relatively young... From top-to-bottom, it is comprised of just two seniors, of which only one will play, due to Eugene Edgerson's redshirt season (Josh Pastner, who has played just 79 minutes in his four year career is the lone "playing" senior)... After that, there are five juniors - two of whom had never played in a game for the Cats before the Kansas State season opener (Wake Forest transfer Loren Woods & junior college transfer Lamont Frazier) and one who can't play this season because he is a transfer (Luke Recker)... Then there are three sophomores, one redshirt freshman and four true freshmen.

Who's Back: Heading the group of two returning starters and seven letterwinners is last year's Freshman All-American and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Michael Wright. A 6-foot-7, 238-pound sophomore from Chicago, Ill. (Farragut Academy), he has received preseason acclaim as being one the top power forwards in the country for 1. He is the team's leading returning scorer (13.9 ppg) and rebounder (8.8 rpg) after posting the best rebounding average by a freshman in Pac-10 history last season. The other returning starter from last year is sophomore Richard Jefferson (F, 6-7, 222, Phoenix, Ariz.)... (Ruben Douglas was a third returning starter, but he was granted his request to be released from his scholarship at the UA on Nov. 14). Jefferson was an All-Pac-10 Freshman team performer last season after averaging 11.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 2.9 apg. Among the other returning letterwinners are Justin Wessel (F, 6-8 , 225, Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Rick Anderson (F, 6-8 , 221, So., Long Beach, Calif.), John Ash (G, 5-10, 177, Jr., Tucson, Ariz.) and probably the most valuable player in the country who has averaged 2.6 minutes per game during his career, Josh Pastner (G, 5-11, 182, Kingwood, Texas).

A Redshirt Year: Another face that is returning this season, but will not be playing is Eugene Edgerson... He will redshirt this season so he can complete his degree requirement in his education major... In order to accomplish his goal of getting his degree and teaching certificate from the UA in four years, he will student teach during the 2000 spring semester, while fulfilling other requirements this fall... Depending on his teaching schedule, he will still practice with the team - but will miss Wednesday practices during the fall semester.

The (Kind Of) New Faces: There are eight players on this season's roster who had never played in a game for the Wildcats before the season opener, although two of them were with the program last year and sat out - either as a transfer or with a redshirt season. The transfer is junior center Loren Woods (7-1, 251, St. Louis, Mo.), who came to Arizona from Wake Forest. The former McDonald's All-American had to sit out last year, but is eligible to play in 1999-00 and will establish his presence right away. He did practice with the Cats in 1998-99, so he has a good knowledge of the system. The redshirt is Luke Walton (F, 6-8, 228, Fr., San Diego, Calif.). He missed last season with a medical redshirt after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot. He was healthy towards the end of last year and was able to practice with the team at the end of February.

2000 NCAA West Region First/Second Rounds in McKale Center The University of Arizona will host the first and second rounds of the 2000 NCAA Tournament West Region this March 16 & 18 in McKale Center. Tickets are currently on sale for each of the three sessions and cost $90. Ticket orders can be made at the McKale Center ticket office or by calling . Media credential applications will be ready in January. Contact media coordinator Tom Duddleston with any questions ().

The New Guys: The six fresh faces on the team are a talented group... There are two transfers and four true freshmen... Junior college guard Lamont Frazier (6-3, 182, Jr.) comes to Tucson from Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas and is originally from Los Angeles... His has missed some practices so far due to a recurrent medical condition, but returned to practice on Oct. 28 -- his first time on the floor with the team since Oct. 17... The second high-profile transfer in two years to come to Arizona is Indiana transfer Luke Recker (G/F, 6-6, 190, Jr., Auburn, Ind.)... Just as the case was with Loren Woods last season, he must sit out this season as a result of NCAA transfer rules, but will be allowed to practice with the team... As a result of the broken left wrist he suffered in a car wreck back in early July, he was held out of some drills in practice to avoid contact, but received full clearance to practice last week... The four true freshmen on the squad include McDonald's All-American Jason Gardner (G, 5-10, 178, Indianapolis, Ind.), Gilbert Arenas (G, 6-3, 191, North Hollywood, Calif.), Robertas Javtokas - it's pronounced YAHV-toe-kus (C, 6-10, 229, Siauliai, Lithuania) and walk-on Michael Schwertley (F, 6-5, 214, Phoenix, Ariz.).

Where Are You From?: California is the state that can claim the most members of this year's Wildcats, as four players are from "The Golden State " (Rick Anderson, Gilbert Arenas, Lamont Frazier and Luke Walton)... There are three from Arizona (John Ash, Richard Jefferson & Michael Schwertley) and two from Indiana (Jason Gardner, Luke Recker)... The rest of the roster contains six players from different states - and countries, as the case is with Robertas Javtokas, who is from Siauliai, Lithuania... His city is pronounced SHAW-lay.

The Golden Arches: This season's roster has four former McDonald's All-Americans - Jason Gardner, Richard Jefferson, Luke Recker and Loren Woods.

Then There Were Four: Just four players on this year's roster remain from Arizona's 1997 NCAA Championship team - Eugene Edgerson, Justin Wessel, John Ash and Josh Pastner.

Who's Gone From 1998-99: Leading the losses from last season are 1998-99 seniors Jason Terry and A.J. Bramlett... Terry was named the National Player of the Year in three circles last year and was the Pac-10 Player of the Year after becoming the first player to lead the league in scoring (21.9 ppg), assists (5.5) and steals (2.8) in the same season since Gary Payton of Oregon State did it in 1989-90... He was No. 10 in the NBA Draft and went to the Atlanta Hawks... Bramlett was an All-Pac-10 selection last season after averaging 14.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg... He was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers... Both Terry and Bramlett were members of four Arizona teams that went 103-28 (55-4 at home), winning a national title (1997), a Pac-10 crown and they were 11-3 in the NCAA Tournament... Jason Stewart was the third senior last year, while freshman guard Traves Wilson transferred in the off-season, and so did Ruben Douglas, who made his decision Nov. 14.

Arizona's NCAA History: Last year marked the 18th time Arizona has made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and it was the 15th invite under head coach Lute Olson... UA's current string of 15 consecutive appearances in the NCAAs is the second longest streak in NCAA history, trailing only North Carolina's 25 straight invites (UNC's is a current streak as well)... Last season was the 20th time in the last 21 years that Olson has taken a team to the NCAAs... He has directed Arizona to 15 tourneys and a 24-14 record -- and when he was the coach at Iowa, he coached five Hawkeye squads to the NCAAs... With 20 career appearances in the NCAA Tournament, he is tied for fourth on the NCAA's all-time tournament appearance list for head coaches with Adolph Rupp and John Thompson... Over the course of their last 20 NCAA games, the Wildcats own a record of 15-5... In the last five years, Arizona has played in 21 tournament games... Arizona's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is now 26-17... The Wildcats have been to three Final Fours -- 1988, 1994 & 1997... Arizona has advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times in the last 12 years.

20-Win Campaigns: With its record of 22-7 last season, it marked the 12th consecutive season that Arizona won 20 or games... Further, it was the 14th time in Lute Olson's 16 years as UA head coach that the Cats have reached the 20-win plateau... It marked the 21st time in Olson's career that he has directed a team to 20 or more victories, making him just the eighth head coach in NCAA history to reach 20 wins in 21 or more seasons (Dean Smith-30; Jerry Tarkanian-26; Adolph Rupp-23; Bobby Knight-22; Denny Crum-21; Jim Boeheim-21; John Chaney-21).

Former Cats in the NBA: This season, there are 10 former Arizona players on NBA rosters... They are Mike Bibby (Vancouver), A.J. Bramlett (Cleveland/injured list), Jud Buechler (Detroit), Michael Dickerson (Vancouver), Sean Elliott (San Antonio/injured list), Steve Kerr (San Antonio), Chris Mills (Golden State), Sean Rooks (Dallas), Damon Stoudamire (Portland) and Jason Terry (Atlanta).

Shooting Sets the Tone: Since the 1996-97 season, Arizona is 62-4 in games when it has a better shooting percentage than its opponent... The Wildcats are 2-0 this year, 19-1 last season, 23-2 the year before and 18-1 in 1996-97 campaign.

80s Preservation Society: In the past four years, the UA is 77-8 when it scores 80 or more points in a game... Further, since the 1992-93 season, Arizona is 139-15 when it scores 80 or more... The Cats are 2-0 this year, were 15-2 in 1998-99, 26-3 in 1997-98 and 19-2 in 1996-97.

The Century Club: The UA has not given up 100 points in regulation since Jan. 27, 1990, at Pittsburgh, a span of 304 games. UA lost that game 100-92.

Some Notes on Last Season: The Wildcats led the Pac-10 in rebounding (41.6 rpg), scoring (82.2 ppg), free throw shooting (.710) and rebounding margin (+8.1 rpg)... The Cats completed its home schedule with a 14-0 mark... It was the ninth time in history the UA has completed its home schedule undefeated... Last year was the first time since 1989-90 that Arizona didn't score 100 points or more in at least one game... Arizona started three freshmen in 22 of its 29 games and used 10 different starting lineups... Only three teams shot 50% or better against the Wildcats -- UCLA (50%), at Cal (51.6%) and at Stanford (54.0%)... Arizona suffered its worst shooting performance of the season against Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (19-of-57/33%)... One offshoot of the UA's rebounding dominance was the amount of times it went to the free throw line... The Wildcats attempted 252 more free throws than the opposition... The three-point field goal percentage of .350 was the lowest in team history... Arizona's 30 turnovers against Washington State on Jan. 7, were the most for the program since Dec. 4, 1982, when the Ben Lindsey-coached Cats had 36 at New Mexico... The University of Arizona retired Steve Kerr's jersey in a ceremony following the Washington game... He joined Sean Elliott as the only former Wildcats to have their jersey hung from the McKale Center rafters.

Arizona Basketball On TV This Year: Each of Arizona's 31 regular season games will be televised on either Fox Sports Net, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS or KWBA. The Wildcats appear on Fox Sports Net 20 times, ESPN three times, ESPN2 four times, CBS once, ABC once and on Tucson's KWBA five times. Should Arizona advance to the Preseason NIT's final, it would have one more ESPN games.

The Coach's Show: Once again this season, KNST will air the Lute Olson Coach's Show, hosted by Brian Jeffries... Due to Arizona travel conflicts during the non-conference season, the show will air just once prior to Pac-10 play... The first show is on Monday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. It is broadcast live from Bob's at 6350 East Tanque Verde Road... The show will then be aired for the television portion of the Lute Olson Show, showing on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 10:30 p.m. on UPN channel 18... The next Lute Olson Show after this will be on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 6 p.m. and the TV show will be shown Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 10:30 p.m.