With more than six minutes left in the game, the Maryland/Duke
score was announced for the remaining Arizona fans at Pauley
Pavilion. Duke lost in an upset, forfeiting its national No. 1
ranking.
For the last three seasons UCLA (4-9, 2-3 Pac-10) has beaten a
top ranked team, but this year the Bruins lost to a No. 2 team,
paving the way for Arizona to become No. 1. While the
Wildcats’ fans continued to cheer after the announcement,
Arizona (13-1, 6-0) just finished the game. They didn’t care
about the accomplishment.
Afterward, the players felt they didn’t play well and the
victory wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been.
“Sometimes we get caught up playing like our
opponents,” Wildcat center Channing Frye said. “We
didn’t play to our ability.”
The final score was 87-52 and a 35-point lead wasn’t
enough. Five players scored in double figures, and the Wildcats
even out rebounded the Bruins 53-33.
They appeared to look like a No. 1 team. They weren’t
convinced by their own 47 percent shooting.
“We’re obviously not No. 1 at this time and it
didn’t mean anything the first time,” head coach Lute
Olson said. “We know that we need to be a lot
better.”
Some UCLA players agreed that their opponent was not great
Saturday, despite what their eventual high ranking would
suggest.
“I haven’t seen a team that really was better than
us all year,” Bruin sophomore Andre Patterson said. “I
don’t think either team played particularly well.”
“That Arizona team is not the same as the Arizona teams of
the past,” sophomore Ryan Walcott added.
However, the Bruins could not judge their opponent’s play.
As a team, UCLA shot 32 percent and turned the ball over 21 times.
The Bruins played much worse than their opponent.
After the weekend, the Associated Press as well as ESPN/USA
Today decided Arizona was the best team in the nation. The
Wildcats’ last loss was a month ago, to LSU 66-65. They need
to lose again to drop from the top spot.
But that seems unlikely; Arizona swept the Oregon schools on the
road, a very difficult task, as well as the L.A. schools for the
first time in 10 years.
Next up is Arizona State and Kansas, both games on the road, but
the Wildcats are arguably better than those schools on paper.
Until that next loss, the Wildcats will work on getting better
and focus on each game at a time. Still, some Wildcats are taking
in the thrill of being back on top.
“We did this on our own,” senior Wildcat Luke Walton
said. “I think we are the best team in the nation.”