On the Way to the Bay: The Arizona Wildcats (11-2, 0-0 Pac-10; No. 5 AP/No. 4 USA Today/ESPN) begin the Pacific-10 Conference schedule this week, traveling to the Bay Area to play at California (9-3; 0-0 Pac-10) on Thursday, Jan. 6, and at top-ranked and defending league champion Stanford (11-0, 0-0 Pac-10; TBA-AP/No. 1 USA Today/ESPN) on Saturday, Jan. 8.

The game against the Golden Bears will tip-off at 8:37 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. MST) and will be played at Cal's new 12,300-seat Haas Pavilion. It will be televised in Tucson on KWBA-TV with Dave Sitton on the play-by-play and Bob Elliott handling the color. As for the game against the Cardinal, it will be at 3 p.m. PST (4 p.m. MST) on Saturday and will be televised on Fox Sports Net with Barry Tompkins on the play-by-play and George Raveling on color.

Arizona, which has won eight of the last 14 Pac-10 Conference championships and was named as the preseason favorite to do so this year, will enter the first week of league play after winning its own Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic last week by downing Delaware, 89-77, on Dec. 30.

Series History: Arizona leads the series with California, 33-23 and is 26-9 against the Bears under Lute Olson... Arizona enters Thursday's game winning three of the last four games in the series, but dropped the last meeting a 89-76 decision on Feb. 25, 1999 in Oakland... Arizona is 10-7 under Olson against California in games played in the Bay Area... This is the first time Arizona has played on the California campus since Jan. 12, 1995... UA won that game 99-86 in Harmon Gym... Since then, Arizona has played the Bears at either the Oakland Coliseum, the Cow Palace or the New Arena in Oakland... The Wildcats own a 36-19 advantage in the series with Stanford and have won 19 of the previous 23 meetings, including three of the past four as well... As the case is with Cal, Arizona also lost its last game against the Cardinal, dropping a 98-83 contest in Maples Pavilion on Feb. 27, 1999... That game clinched the Pac-10 title for Stanford... Two years ago, sixth-ranked Arizona knocked off the previously unbeaten (18-0) and third-ranked Cardinal, 93-75, in Maples, ending their 20-game homecourt winning streak... Under Olson, Arizona has gone 25-7 versus Stanford... From 1989-95, Arizona put together a 15-game winning streak against the Cardinal since then, the teams have split the last eight contests.

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  13.7  8.8   0.7 apg
F  44  Richard Jefferson 6-7   222  So.-1L  13.8  5.5   3.5 apg
C   3  Loren Woods       7-1   230  Jr.-TR  13.5  5.8   3.3 bpg
G   0  Gilbert Arenas    6-3   191  Fr.-HS  13.2  4.0   2.1 apg
G  22  Jason Gardner     5-10  178  Fr.-HS  11.4  3.2   5.6 apg

Michael Wright, who was also named to the all-tournament team, had his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and game-high 14 rebounds. Arizona's other all-tourney team performer, Richard Jefferson, pumped in 18 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Arizona, which pulled down a season-high 52 rebounds in the game, dominated throughout and owned a 47-31 lead at halftime.

In the second stanza, the Wildcats eventually built a 24-point lead at 80-56 before Lute Olson emptied the bench. The Cats reached the title game after downing UNC-Wilmington in the first night of the tournament, 66-51.

Pac-10 Openers: Since Arizona joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978-79, it owns an all-time record of 12-8 in the initial game of the league schedule... It has won two of the last three conference openers, losing at UCLA last season, beating UCLA at home in 1998 and downing California in Tucson in 1997... This is the second straight season that Arizona has opened the Pac-10 slate on the road... Last year, the Cats spilt the Los Angeles series, losing to UCLA (82-75) and beating USC (87-78)... Arizona also opened the 1995-96 campaign with a trip to the Bay Area... UA lost at California, 99-75, and then dropped the second leg of the trip at Stanford (80-71).

California Notes: The Golden Bears are 9-3 on the season and are coming off a 95-87 win over Davidson in the consolation game of the Golden Bear Classic last Sunday... They have won five of their last six heading into Thursday night's game against the UA the lone loss in the span was to Delaware in the opening night of their Golden Bear Classic on Dec. 29... Three players are scoring in double figures, led by 6-foot-7 junior forward Sean Lampley... He is averaging 16.8 ppg and also leads the team in rebounding at 8.8 rpg... The other two double-digit scoring guys are 6-foot-5 freshman forward Joe Shipp (11.3 ppg) and 6-foot-10 freshman center Nick Vander Laan (11.0 ppg)... Those three, respectively, have field goal percentage marks of 55.2%, 54.3% and 57.5%... It should be a decent front line match-up between them and Arizona's trio of Woods, Wright and Jefferson... Besides the defeat to Pennsylvania, the other two losses have been to Oklahoma and Colorado... Cal's head coach is Ben Braun, who is in his fourth year in Berkeley... He owns a record of 66-38 at Cal and has a 23-year career mark of 399-273... He is 2-4 all-time against Arizona.

The Last Arizona-California Game: Helped in part by a 12-0 run at the end of the first half, Cal handed seventh-ranked Arizona only its fifth loss of the 1998-99 season, posting an 89-76 victory on Feb. 25, 1999, at Oakland's New Arena... All five Wildcat starters scored in double figures including 17 from both Jason Terry and Ruben Douglas... Michael Wright led the Wildcats on the boards with eight rebounds, while Terry and A.J. Bramlett each had seven... Arizona jumped out to a 22-12 lead, but Cal chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 40-40... The Golden Bears then went on their 12-0 run to take a 52-40 halftime lead and in the second half, the Cal lead was never less than 10 points... Cal's Geno Carlisle led all scorers with 21 and Sean Lampley added 20, as the Golden Bears snapped a three-game losing streak to Arizona.

Lute Olson is within reach of a pair of coaching milestones... He is two wins away for career win No. 600 and recently achieved 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 even more milestones in what has become a Hall of Fame type coaching
career... He has a career record of 598-214 (.736), while his mark in
Tucson stands at 406-122 (.769)... He needs just two 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 the win over BYU this season, he reached 400
victories 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)... He is
26-9 all-time versus California and is 25-8 versus Stanford... The season's
opener against Kansas State was the 800th of his collegiate Division IA
career... For his entire coaching career, including 11 years in high school
(180-76 from 1956-69) and two in the junior college ranks (Long Beach City
College, 104-20), he has coached in 1,192 games... 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 the UA, he
was at Iowa for nine years and went 168-90... Before that, he was at Long
Beach State for one season (1973-74), where he was 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
are 250-26 (.905) in McKale Center and have won 179 of their last 190 home
games.


The UA's record of 331-76 over the course of the past 12+ years gives it
the nation's best winning percentage during that span (.813).


Stanford Notes: The No. 1 Cardinal are 11-0 on the season and are
outscoring the opposition by 21.5 ppg... This is the first time Arizona has
played a No. 1 ranked team since it upset Kansas in the 1997 NCAA
Tournament (85-82)... That game was in the Sweet 16 at the Southeast
Regional and it helped propel the Cats to their first ever NCAA
Championship... Stanford has won its last five game by an average score of
85-54... The team is shooting 45.5% from the floor, while limiting the
opposition to a FG% of just 31.1% and 28.9% from the three-point line...
Four players have a double-digit scoring average... The top scorer,
6-foot-6 freshman guard/forward Casey Jacobsen (13.1 ppg) -- comes off the
bench... He has hit on 38.9% of his three-point shot attempts...
Six-foot-10 Jarron Collins is second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg),
followed by 6-foot-9 senior forward Mark Madsen (12.0), who has only played
in three games due to injury... Six-foot-11 redshirt freshman center Jason
Collins is the top rebounders at 7.1 rpg... Head coach Mike Montgomery is
in his 15th season on the Farm and owns a 272-139 record... He is in his
22nd year overall as a head coach and has compiled a 426-216 career mark.


The Last Arizona-Stanford Game: In a win that gave Stanford its first
Pac-10 title, Arizona was beaten by the Cardinal, 98-83, on Feb. 27, 1999,
in Maples Pavilion. In what was the biggest loss for the Cats in their past
87 Pac-10 games, Arizona did have five players score in double figures, but
were unable to match Stanford's torrid shooting  the Cardinal shot a UA
opponent season-high 54% (47.6% from the three-point arc) -- and the 52
points that Stanford's Arthur Lee and Kris Weems combined for. Arizona fell
behind early and was eventually down by 20 (42-22) with 4:17 left to go in
the first half, but used a 12-1 run to close the half and trailed 43-34
going into the lockeroom. In the second stanza, it was all Stanford, as it
continued to shoot well (58.3 FG%) and fed off of Arizona's poor shooting
(32.6%). When it was all said and done, Jason Terry led the way for the
Cats with 21 points, six steals and five rebounds, but was just 7-of-29
from the floor. A.J. Bramlett had his 15th double-double of the season with
15 points and 10 rebounds, while Ruben Douglas netted 15 points. Richard
Jefferson had 13 points and Eugene Edgerson scored 11 to go with seven boards.


Teammates Then, Opponents Now:  Arizona's Michael Wright and Stanford's
Casey Jacobsen were teammates on the silver medal 1999 USA Basketball Men's
Junior World Championship team this past summer... Wright was the leading
scorer (11.9 ppg) and Jacobsen averaged 6.9 ppg... They lost to Spain in
the gold medal game... Jacobsen and Arizona freshman point guard Jason
Gardner played on the same team at the McDonald's All-American High School
Basketball Game back in March... Playing for the West Squad, which won
141-128, Gardner had seven points, six rebounds, six assists and five
steals, while Jacobsen had 22 points.
 
Pac-10 Team of the Decade???:  Arizona has the most wins of any Pac-10 team
in the 1990s (267), has won five Pac-10 Conference crowns and tied for one
other... UCLA is second with four Pac-10 conference titles this decade...
For conference games only, Arizona's record of 140-40 is 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, four Pac-10 Players
of the Year and two Pac-10 Freshmen 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.


Lower Output, Same Results:  Arizona has scored less than 70 points in a
game four times this season -- in the past two seasons combined, the
Wildcats only had three games with less than 70 points... The Cats are
averaging 77.4 ppg this season... At this rate, the 1999-00 Arizona team
would be the lowest scoring group since the 1986-87 program, which wound up
averaging 75.6 ppg... They are coming off a season-high point total,
however, after scoring 89 against Delaware last week... Conversely, this
year's Cats have been playing some pretty stingy defense, allowing only
63.6 ppg... That mark is the best since the 1985-86 club finished the
season giving up just 62.3 ppg.


Cat Scratches: Arizona has played just one true road game this season up
until this week... That was at Texas on Dec. 4... There have been four
neutral site games and eight home games to go with the lone road game...
All five UA starters have a double-figure scoring average and just 2.4
points separates the No. 1 scorer (Richard Jefferson/13.8 ppg) from the No.
5 scorer (Jason Gardner/11.4 ppg)... In between you have Michael Wright at
13.7 ppg, Loren Woods at 13.5 ppg, Gilbert Arenas at 13.2 ppg... The last
time the Cats had all five in double figures after 13 games was in the
1995-96 season (Miles Simon, Joseph Blair, Ben Davis, Michael Dickerson,
Reggie Geary)... Arizona has been to the free throw line 142 more times
than its opposition this season... This week will mark the 71st time that
Arizona has been ranked in the top-five by the Associated Press... Of Jason
Gardner's 43 field goals this season, 30 are from three-point land
(69.7%)... Further, 75 of his 117 field goal attempts have been from behind
the three-point line (64%)... He is on pace to attempt 184 three-point
field goals this season -- Damon Stoudamire has the single-season record of
265 3PT FGA's... Arizona started the season ranked ninth in both the AP and
USA Today/ESPN polls... Of Arizona's five starters, you have two sophomores
(Wright/Jefferson) who have combined for 77 career games and 36 Pac-10
games, two true freshmen (Gardner/Arenas) who have never played in a Pac-10
game and a junior who had never played for the Cats until this season
(Woods)... After winning the Preseason NIT earlier this season, Arizona
joins Kansas as the only three-time winners of the event, winning it in
1999, 1995 and 1990... Since the start of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, the
Wildcats have won 69 of 85 games (.811 winning %)... Dating back to the
start of the 1997-98 season, Arizona has been ranked in the top-10 in 39 of
the last 45 AP polling periods... Arizona is 36-0 when senior Josh Pastner
plays, hence the term "A Pastner Game" applies whenever the Wildcats win
big... The Cats are 3-1 versus ranked opponents this season, beating No. 5
Michigan State, No. 9 Texas, No. 11 Kentucky and losing to No. 6
Connecticut... Senior Josh Pastner and junior Loren Woods were selected
captains for this year's team in voting that was done by teammates... The
UA has not given up 100 points in regulation since Jan. 27, 1990, at
Pittsburgh, a span of 314 games... UA lost that game 100-92. 


A New Breed of Cats: With Kentucky not being included in the Associated
Press Top-25 rankings on Dec. 13, for the first time in nine years, Arizona
now has the second longest current streak of appearing in the AP's weekly
poll (80 weeks, counting this week's poll)...This streak dates back to the
first regular season poll of the 1995-96 season... Arizona was not ranked
in that year's preseason poll... That was the only time since the 1987-88
preseason poll that Arizona was not ranked in the AP poll.. Overall,
Arizona has been ranked in the regular season Top-25 rankings for 207
straight weeks... North Carolina extended the nation's No. 1 streak of
being ranked in the AP poll to 170 consecutive weeks and that is the
third-longest streak in history.


Roster Moves: Arizona started the season with 16 players on its roster, but
the number has since been reduced to 13 and there are only eight
scholarship players available for action (Rick Anderson, Gilbert Arenas,
Jason Gardner, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, Justin Wessel, Loren Woods
and Michael Wright)... There are three non-scholarship players (John Ash,
Josh Pastner and Mike Schwertly)... Two additional scholarship players,
Eugene Edgerson and Lamont Frazier, are sitting out this season... Edgerson
is out with a redshirt season so he can work on the student-teaching
portion of his education degree...  Frazier has missed the past six games
to take care of academic responsibilities and a medical condition -- and as
a result of all the missed time, the UA coaching staff will look to
redshirt him this season... The deletions from the original roster include
freshman center Robertas Javtokas, who decided to return his native
Lithuania and play professionally... Junior transfer Luke Recker
transferred to Iowa  he had come to the UA from Indiana prior to this
season, but returned to the Midwest to be closer to his family and
girlfriend (Kelly Craig), who was injured in a July car crash... Of the
transfer, he said, "After what happened this summer, I feel I need to be
closer to my family, Kelly and Jason (Craig) and their family, and many
other important people in my life. I have been nothing but extremely
impressed with coach Lute Olson and the Arizona program and I will miss
them greatly... The third was sophomore guard Ruben Douglas, who was
granted his request for a release from his scholarship at the University of
Arizona by the UA coaching staff on Nov. 14.


McKale Magic: When New Mexico beat Arizona on Dec. 21 in McKale Center, it
snapped what was the nation's fourth-longest active home winning streak...
The Wildcats had won 37 consecutive home games, trailing only Murray State
(46), Utah (41) and Duke (40)... And up until then, only four players on
this year's team had ever experienced a loss in McKale Center (Justin
Wessel, Josh Pastner, John Ash & Eugene Edgerson -- those four were on
teams that were 47-1 at home)... Prior to the New Mexico game, the last
loss for the UA in McKale Center was a 66-64 defeat to UCLA on Feb. 13,
1997... Arizona has now won 50 of its last 52 home games and is 179-11 in
McKale Center since the 1987-88 season... During that time, the Cats have
lost three non-conference games (New Mexico - Dec. 21, 1999; Syracuse -
Dec. 23, 1995; Arkansas - Dec. 6, 1992)... The New Mexico loss also snapped
a 23 game home winning streak against consecutive non-conference
opponents... Last year was the ninth season in history that Arizona went
undefeated at home... Arizona owns an all-time record of 342-65 (.840) in
McKale Center... This is 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.


Looking Ahead: Following this week's trip to the Bay Area, the Wildcats
host the Washington schools on Jan. 13 and 15... Washington State is up
first, coming to McKale Center on Thursday, Jan. 13, for a 6:30 p.m.
game... Washington is on Saturday, Jan. 15, tipping off at 6:30 p.m. as
well... Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Net Arizona.


For Starters: Lute Olson has gone with the same starting lineup in 10 of
the 13 games this season... The time the starting five was altered was
against Michigan State and IUPUI... Against MSU, an adjustment was made at
the center spot, as Justin Wessel started for Loren Woods... Woods was late
to the game because of a traffic accident he was in while on the way to
McKale Center... He finally got to the arena in the early goings of the
first half and checked into the lineup at the 14:17 mark after warming up
on a stationary bike... He made his first field goal attempt 24 seconds
later... Gilbert Arenas was the other normal starter who did not start
against MSU, as a result of him being late to a scheduled treatment session
with basketball athletic trainer Ed Orr... Rick Anderson started in his
place and Richard Jefferson started at the two-guard... Against IUPUI,
Anderson again started for Arenas and Jefferson went at the two-guard.


Road Warriors: Before this week's trek to the Bay Area, Arizona has played
in five different cities and four separate time zones while logging 8,842
travel miles... There will be an additional 1,530 miles added to the travel
log... Further, the team has been through eight different airports and on
14 different plane flights. 


Block Party: Junior center Loren Woods is providing the UA basketball
program with a luxury it has been without for the past few years  a
legitimate shot blocker... With 43 blocks already this season (3.3 bpg), he
already has six more than last year's top UA shot blocker -- A.J. Bramlett
-- had for the entire season (37)... In fact, Woods has more than half as
many as the UA's top shot blockers in every year since blocked shots have
been recorded at the UA (1975-76)... For a lowdown of the shot blockers in
UA history, consult page 85 in the Arizona basketball media guide... The
Arizona individual record for blocks in a season is 84, set by Anthony Cook
in 1988-89, and Woods is well ahead of that pace (he is on track for 105
swats)... He has tied the UA record for blocks in a game three times this
season, blocking seven shots against Notre Dame, Nebraska and New Mexico
(Cook had seven blocks in 1987 against UTEP)... Also, Richard Jefferson's
15 blocks this season is already four more than his entire total for the
1998-99 campaign... Last year, the Wildcats accounted for 93 blocks on the
season and this year, they already have 78.


And Make It A Double: All-American candidate Michael Wright has seven
double-doubles in the Wildcats' 13 games this season, bringing his career
double-double total to 19... The sophomore power forward has 19
double-doubles in just 42 career games... On the season, he is averaging
13.7 ppg and a team-best 8.8 rpg, while shooting 57.4% from the floor... He
has started 37 consecutive games for the Cats dating back to last season...
Wright was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week back on Dec. 6 after
averaging 17.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg in wins over Brigham Young and Texas... His
35 rebounds through the first three games of the Preseason NIT were three
shy of the three-game tournament record of 38, set by Gary Trent (Miami of
Ohio).. His rebounding average of 8.8 rpg last season was the best ever for
a freshman in the Pac-10 Conference.


Michael Wright's Career Double-Doubles (19 in 42 career games) 
Arizona's record in these games is 13-6

Date     Opponent        Points   Rebounds
12/14/98 UC-Irvine          15    13
1-2-99   at UCLA            14    10
1/4/99   at USC             11    12
1/14/99  at Arizona State   18    12
1/16/99  at New Mexico      15    17
1/23/99  at Oregon State    13    12
1/30/99  California         15    12
2/4/99   at Washington      19    10
2/13/99  Louisiana State    15    11
2/20/99  Oregon             19    13
3/4/99   USC                22    10
3/12/99  Oklahoma           16    12
11/16/99 Kansas State       11    10
11/19/99 New Mexico State   24    13
11/24/99 Notre Dame         22    11
12/1/99  BYU                19    10
12/4/99  Texas              16    13
12/7/99  Connecticut        14    10
12/30/99 Delaware           19    14

Jefferson's Starship: Appearing on a "Plays of the Week" near you,
sophomore Richard Jefferson is one of the most athletic players in the
country and has had a solid season, while providing more than a fair share
of highlight reel dunks and blocks... He is first on the team in scoring
(13.8 ppg) and three-point shooting (.467/14-30), second in field goal
percentage (.555), and assists (3.5 apg) and third rebounding (5.5 rpg)...
On Monday of this week, he was a subject of ESPN.com's question of the day
on the college basketball site  it asked "who is the best small forward in
the country?"... He garnered around 13% of the vote to finish fourth behind
Michigan State's Morris Peterson, Maryland's Terrance Morris and
Cincinnati's Pete Mickeal... The Phoenix product has scored in double
figures in every game but two (Connecticut & UNC Wilmington)... He is
finally coming into his own as a wing player after spending his high school
career as a back-tothe-basket post player... His season was highlighted by
a 19-point, five rebound, four assist outing at Texas, that helped lift
Arizona to an 88-81 win over the ninth-ranked Longhorns... All 19 points
came in the second half when he was 8-of-10 from the floor.


The Kids are Alright: The freshman guard tandem of Jason Gardner and
Gilbert Arenas appear to have acclimated themselves quite well to the
college game... Big parts of the UA's 11-2 start, they are combining for
24.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 7.7 apg and 3.8 spg... They are No. 1 & 2 in steals and
minutes on the team... Gardner leads the team in minutes, averaging 35 mpg
and his three-point percentage (.400/30-75) is better than his overall
field goal percentage (.368/43-117)... They enjoyed their time in the
Madison Square Garden limelight for the Preseason NIT, appearing in their
own version of an off-Broadway "CATS" performance... They were both named
to the Preseason NIT All-Tournament team, while Arenas was the tourney's
MVP... Arenas averaged 17.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 3.5 spg, helping
Arizona beat Notre Dame and Kentucky... He went for a game and career-high
20 points in the title game versus UK... As for Gardner, he averaged 9.5
ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.0 spg and only turned the ball over once while playing in
72 of a possible 80 minutes.


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   2-0      #8             #9
        11/29   4-0      #4             #4
        12/6    6-0      #2             #2
        12/13   7-1      #4             #3
        12/20   9-1      #3             #2      
        12/27   9-2      #5             #4
         1/3    11-2     #5             #4
     

   
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. 


Ties Count as a Win: With each win by the Arizona basketball team this
year, head coach Lute Olson donates the tie he wore in the game to the
Tucson YMCA , and in turn they auction off that tie to the public, with all
the proceeds going towards their youth programs... So far, his closet is
minus 11 ties on the season...


Pretty Good Success:  Dating back to the first round loss of the 1986 Big
Apple NIT, Arizona has won 68 of its last 74 games that have been played as
part of an in-season tournament or one-game special event (i.e. Bank One
Fiesta Bowl Classic, Preseason NIT, Maui Invitational, Great Eight Classic,
Las Vegas Showdown, Great Alaska Shootout, Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic,
etc., etc.)... This season, Arizona is 7-1 in such events, going 4-0 in the
Preseason NIT, losing to Connecticut at the Great Eight, beating Nebraska
in the Las Vegas Showdown and beating UNC-Wilmington and Delaware in the
opening round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic.


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 88 minutes in his four year career is the lone
"playing" senior)... After that, there are four 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)... Then there are three sophomores, one redshirt freshman and
three true freshmen.


Happy Action Graduation Time: If getting your undergraduate degree in just
two-and-a-half years was not enough, Arizona senior Josh Pastner has pushed
the envelope even further with his most recent scholastic accomplishment...
On Dec. 18, he received his master's degree in teaching & teacher
education, taking just three-and-a-half years to do so... He walked in the
University of Arizona's graduation ceremonies on Saturday morning, and then
boarded a plane to Las Vegas to meet up with the team for that night's game
against Nebraska... Last year the road trip and graduation day was exactly
the same as well, when he received his undergraduate degree in family
studies... He walked the morning of Dec. 19, 1998 and then flew to Las
Vegas later that day for the Cats' game in the Las Vegas Shootout versus
Iowa State... He played eight minutes with one rebound in that win.


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 2.4 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.


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 (Kind Of) New Faces: There are six players on this season's roster who
have never played in a Pac-10 game, 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.


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)... The rest of the roster contains six players from different
states.


The Golden Arches: This season's roster has three former McDonald's
All-Americans  Jason Gardner, Richard Jefferson 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 to do so as well on Nov. 14.


Arizona's NCAA Tournament 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 12 former Arizona players on
NBA rosters -- two have been added in recent weeks -- Ben Davis w/Phoenix
and Khalid Reeves w/Chicago... The 12-man list includes, Mike Bibby
(Vancouver), 
A.J. Bramlett (Cleveland), Jud Buechler (Detroit), Ben Davis (Phoenix),
Michael Dickerson (Vancouver), Sean Elliott (San Antonio/injured list),
Steve Kerr (San Antonio), Chris Mills (Golden State), Khalid Reeves
(Chicago), Sean Rooks (Dallas), Damon Stoudamire (Portland) and Jason Terry
(Atlanta).


Shooting Sets the Tone: Since the 1996-97 season, Arizona is 71-4 in games
when it has a better shooting percentage than its opponent... The Wildcats
are 11-0 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 81-8 when it
scores 80 or more points in a game... Further, since the 1992-93 season,
Arizona is 143-15 when it scores 80 or more... The Cats are 6-0 this year,
were 15-2 in 1998-99, 26-3 in 1997-98 and 19-2 in 1996-97.


Arizona Basketball On TV This Year:  Each of Arizona's 32 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 four times,
ESPN2 four times, CBS once, ABC once and on Tucson's KWBA five times.


The Coach's Show: Once again this season, KNST radio 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 next Lute Olson Show will be Tuesday, Jan. 4,
at 6 p.m. and the TV show will be shown Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 10:30 p.m on
UPN channel 18 in Tucson.


Prowlin' With the Wildcats: Here's the upcoming broadcast schedule for Fox
Sports Net Arizona's bi-weekly magazine show about University of Arizona
athletics -- "Prowlin' with the Wildcats"... Fri., Jan. 14, 9 p.m./Sun.,
Jan. 16, 1 p.m. (replay); Thurs., Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m./Sat., Jan. 29, 3 p.m.
(replay); Wed., Feb. 9, 5 p.m./Fri, Feb. 11, 9 p.m. (replay); Wed., Feb.
23, 9 p.m./Fri. Feb. 25, 9 p.m. (replay).


Surfin' With The Cats: Follow Arizona basketball games on the internet at
arizcats.com... Go to the TotalCast portion of the site to see the live
real-time play-by-play updates of each of the Arizona men's basketball games.