Wildcats still have title hopes

TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 19 Arizona, trying hard to shake off a midseason slump, still has hopes of winning the Pac-10 title and getting a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats (17-8, 8-5 Pac-10) were plummeting quickly after losing six of eight games before going on a three-game winning streak, culminating with Saturday’s 77-74 victory at No. 15 Oregon.

That put Arizona back in the thick of the conference championship race with home games Thursday against No. 22 USC and fifth-ranked UCLA on Saturday.

“Anytime you come out with two wins in Oregon, you definitely have to feel good about it,” Wildcats coach Lute Olson said Monday. “It gives us good momentum with the two wins.

“The thing about this weekend is we have an opportunity to play two teams that are above us in the standings. At this point, that is what we need to do. That is why Oregon was a big game and that is why these are big games.”

The Wildcats appeared to be falling apart after a 28-point home loss to North Carolina on Feb. 1 and then a rare second straight defeat in McKale Center to Washington State four days later.

But wins over Washington, Oregon State and Oregon has changed the outlook.

“This is a very good time for us to start climbing that hill again,” said freshman Chase Budinger, who scored 30 points Saturday. “We were kind of hitting the bottom of the hill and now we are starting to climb. Hopefully, we can keep on climbing.”

Arizona is fourth in the Pac-10 with UCLA in first and USC in third place.

“I have said the big thing for us is to make sure our players understand we have to continue to get better. We remind them all the time that the little things will differentiate the really good teams from the also-rans,” Olson said. “The little things are taking care of the basketball, getting people off the glass, setting screens, moving without the ball, and all of that has been getting better.”