Arizona players meet ‘to clear air’ after loss

TUCSON, Ariz. –Two days after a loss at home to Washington State cost them three places in the poll, Arizona basketball players decided on a team meeting to clear the air.

The players-only gathering Monday night may get the Wildcats back on track. The Cougars derailed them 70-63 on Saturday, a major upset that dropped Arizona into a tie for 14th in the Associated Press poll this week when they were No. 11 a week ago.

Arizona (17-4, 7-2 Pac-10) had a 38-game winning streak over the Cougars, dating back to the 1986 season.

“We are going to go out there and say what you have to say and make sure everybody is on the same page and move on,” center Channing Frye said. “If you have any gripes or problems, you have to tell us. I think it is good for us. We would have done that regardless, win or lose.”

But the loss certainly accentuated the significance of the meeting at the midpoint of the conference schedule.

“I think it is a necessary thing every so often during a season,” coach Lute Olson said.