Slideshow: Arizona's 10 Elite Eight appearances

The Wildcats' 10th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 4-6
• Who was the star? Frank the Tank. Wisconsin's star-from-out-of-nowhere took it to a whole new level against the stellar Arizona defense. He scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made tough shot after tough shot down the stretch and in overtime as the Wildcats and Sean Miller fell just short again in an Elite Eight.
• How it went down: Arizona jumped out to an early lead, and stretched it to eight before halftime. But Wisconsin rallied to cut that lead to three, and then the teams were never further apart than 5 points the rest of the way. After Arizona tied it to send it to overtime, the Badgers got a three-pointer from Ben Brust and never relinquished the lead. Kaminsky had six points in the extra stanza.

The Wildcats' 9th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 4-5
• Who was the star? Jeremy Lamb. At star Kemba Walker's behest, the Connecticut freshman scored 6 of his 19 points to retake the lead over Arizona late in the game.
• How it went down: Connecticut led 50-41 over the Cats, which were struggling with Derrick Williams in foul trouble. But Arizona went on a 12-2 run and went ahead on a slam by Jesse Perry. Ultimately, Arizona had a chance to win, but both Williams and Jamelle Horne missed open three-pointers that could have put the Cats in the Final Four. Connecticut went on to win the title.

The Wildcats' 8th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 4-4
• Who was the star? Deron Williams. The Illini star dropped 22 points and 10 assists and starred down the stretch as his team made an improbable comeback against the Cats.
• How it went down: In one of the great collapses/rallies in NCAA history, the Arizona Wildcats led Illinois by 15 points with four minutes to go in the Chicago Regional Final, which was essentially an Illini home game. And then it all unraveled. Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown, Illinois star guard trio, all pitched in as they climbed back in the game. A turnover by Arizona with 38 seconds left led to a Williams tying three-ball, and Arizona missed to chances to win in regulation. In overtime, Williams hit a pair of three-pointers, and Arizona lost when Hassan Adams' last shot wasn't close. 

The Wildcats' 7th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 4-3
• Who was the star? Kirk Hinrich. The Kansas guard scored 28 points and hit six three-pointers to thwart Arizona's shot at a Final Four.
• How it went down: The Jayhawks withstood a pair of big Arizona runs, a 13-0 spurt in the first half and a 16-0 run in the second. Arizona led after the second run, but Kansas quickly took the lead back and never let it go. In his final game as a Wildcat, point guard Jason Gardner missed two three-point shots that could have tied the game.

The Wildcats' 6th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 4-2
• Who was the star? Richard Jefferson. Known more for his high-flying dunks, the Cats' 6-7 star turned up the defense on Illinois star guard Frank Williams, the Big Ten Player of the Year, and held him to a 3-for-15 shooting performance.
• How it went down: In a bizarre contest that had star forward Michael Wright shooting exactly zero times and only three field goals by center Loren Woods, Arizona withstood six Cory Bradford three-pointers to advance to its fourth and most recent Final Four.

The Wildcats' 5th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 3-2
• Who was the star? Andre Miller. The star guard for Utah scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 13 assists in the most stunning loss in Arizona's late-round NCAA tournament history.
• How it went down: Utah came out in a "half-zone" defense, and the 30-4 defending champs had no answer. Jason Terry scored 16 points, but Miles Simon, Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson combined to go 6 for 36 from the field for 19 points in the blowout loss. Three Utes grabbed double-digit rebounds, and Arizona lost the board battle 46-32 while shooting a dismal 28.3 percent from the floor and 4 for 22 from deep.

The Wildcats' 4th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 3-1
• Who was the star? Miles Simon helped the Cats get past a scrappy Friars squad with 30 points, including 10 of 16 from the line.
• How it went down: Providence made up for a lack of efficiency with pure volume against Arizona by shooting the ball 22 more times and grabbing 23 offensive rebounds. Point guard God Shammgod had 23 points and five assists to lead the Friars. Arizona got double-digit scoring from six players, though, and held on in overtime to move to the team's third Final Four.

The Wildcats' 3th Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 2-1
• Who was the star? Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves. The standout guard duo combined for 53 points on 17-for-31 shooting as the Cats crushed the Tigers.
• How it went down: The quicker, stronger and more aggressive Cats shot 45 percent from the field despite Ray Owes' 0-for-10 performance, and the Cats made 33 of 41 free throws. For Missouri, those two areas were the opposite, as the Tigers shot 34.9 percent from the field and went just 7 for 15 from the line. Arizona dominated from start to finish en route to its second Final Four.

The Wildcats' 2nd Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 1-1
• Who was the star? Sean Elliott delivered per usual, scoring 24 points and getting to the line 14 times (making 11).
• How it went down: Steve Kerr hit three three-pointers, Tom Tolbrt scored 21 points and Arizona turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 18-point blowout win. UNC stars J.R. Reid and Scott Williams were the only players to reach double figures for the Tar Heels, with Reid going 4 for 10 from the field as Arizona officially stamped itself as a title-contending program with its first trip to the Final Four.

The Wildcats' 1st Elite Eight

• Elite Eight record after game: 0-1
• Who was the star? Star Rich Washington led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 10 boards, and the Bruins, at the tail end of their dominating run through the NCAA, dashed Arizona's hopes at a national semifinal (before it was well-known as the Final Four and before the tourney expanded to 64 teams).
• How it went down: Arizona star Bob Elliott was held in check and scored just 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Arizona as a group hit just 42 percent from the floor, and UCLA hit for better than 51 percent.

Inside the numbers

• Arizona's overall record in Elite Eight games: 4-6
• Arizona's Elite Eight record as No. 1 seed: 1-3
• Arizona's Elite Eight record vs. No. 2 seeds: 1-2
• Arizona's Elite Eight record at Honda Center: 1-3
• Arizona's Elite Eight record with 30 wins or more entering game: 1-4
• Sean Miller in Elite Eights: 0-2
• Lute Olson in Elite Eights: 4-3
• Fred Snowden's in Elite Eights: 0-1

The chart