Countdown begins for Arizona's remaining games, hopes to make NCAA Tournament

There’s a lot left to be done over these final two weeks, plus the league tournament in Kansas City in the first week of March.

The Wildcats sit at 15-11, five games short of solidifying a 20-win season for the fifth time in six years.

Hitting that number, plus some movement in their NET ranking — UA was No. 59 as of Saturday afternoon — will most likely land Arizona in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth striaght time. It would have made the NCAAs in 2020, but the tournament was canceled once COVID-19 shut the world down.

Three months ago, when this young team — the youngest in the Big 12 comprised of 10 freshmen and sophomores, one redshirt senior and two juniors — lost to NAU and GCU in nonconference play, Arizona coach Adia Barnes wasn’t so sure the Wildcats would be knocking on the door of another 20-win season.

“No, it was unchartered territory,” Barnes said. “A couple of years ago, we weren’t losing to mid-major teams. But, honestly, GCU and NAU are really good teams and I think that people see that now. (GCU is 23-2, NAU is 20-6). I think back when we played then it was like, ‘Oh, that’s a really, really really bad loss,’ but they’re better than us right now, and they’re better than most people. They’re winning all their games. I think those weren’t bad losses, if you look at the rankings and stuff like that, and they’re better than we are right now.

“I would not have thought 20 wins (were) a possibility. There were times this season, like when we played against West Virginia and the way we played I was like, ‘Oh, we have potential to get hot at the right time’ but I think with a young team being consistent and figuring that out has been really hard.”

Arizona (15-11, 6-7) hopes to put it all together against No. 11 TCU (23-3, 11-2) on Sunday at McKale Center.

Before the Wildcats take the court, the NCAA’s Women’s Basketball Committee will have the first reveal of the Top 16 who would host the first rounds if the tournament were held this week. The second reveal will be on Thursday, Feb. 27.

While Arizona isn’t in this group this year — it did host in the 2022 season — it may give a little insight into where the Wildcats might be playing, if they do, indeed, make the tournament.

On Sunday, the Wildcats won’t be playing at full strength. Jada Williams, who had a foot injury at the end of the first quarter at OSU on Wednesday is expected back. For the moment, it sounds like that is all about pain management. However, Mailien Rolf, who took a knee to the head later in that same game, had a headache — even as of Friday afternoon.

All of this means that other Wildcats have to step up to have a chance at beating the Horned Frogs’ prolific offense.

Barnes said that this week they are working on the details.

“Some of our rotations are a step behind on a lot of things, and some of that’s because of our athleticism, but it’s the reaction and the anticipation,” Barnes said. “I think, as a player, you have to learn about like you’re playing something, but you’re anticipating what’s next.”

It’s about switching at the level of the screen, angles and moving the ball better.

Making a push

In addition, for many it’s about finding that second wind. It’s a long season, and sometime around the end of January and into February, many players hit the wall mentally and physically.

“I think you hit a wall for a couple different reasons,” Barnes said. “One of the reasons is people know your strengths, and they take them away. You have to have counters, and you have to be able to combat that. And then the other thing is just the mental fatigue, especially when you’re a team with not a lot of depth, you’re tired this time of year.

“As a coach, you’ve got to manage that. Not practice a lot and figure out ways to mentally go through things, or through film, versus pounding on your body. We’re young, so even though they’re sophomores, you’re going to go through these peaks and valleys.”

In the past, there have been Wildcats who have reminded their teammates during this time to “push through and give it all we got to play for each other,” former UA standout Aari McDonald said.

Looking back, even McDonald-led teams weren’t perfect and went through rough patches late in the regular season. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Wildcats lost a total of nine games before, as was the case of 2019 and 2021, turning it on in postseason play.

This year, they have gone 1-3 over the last four games.

Coming together as a team with everyone playing at a high level is what the Wildcats need to do. They know they are capable of knocking off top teams, as they soundly defeated then-No. 16 West Virginia.

One Wildcat who they depend on is Breya Cunningham. For most of the season, she was the model of consistency. She’s had a few rocky outings recently — against Colorado and Oklahoma State — where she’s gotten into early foul trouble, played only 12 minutes, then fouled out.

Barnes has no doubt her sophomore star will come through.

“She has to handle more pressure, she has to show up when we count on her, and those are all hard things,” Barnes said. “But we always say pressure is a privilege, and not everybody has that, and everybody will get that. She has that, and she’s in a great situation to be one of the focal points of our team. I think it’s a great honor for her, so she’s going to embrace it and keep on getting better, and she will.”