In the Stands Report by Bookemdano: This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that I will stay up til midnight to watch my favorite team, the Arizona Wildcats, play a basketball game. Late tonight, 10 p.m. to be exact, the Wildcats will tangle with the Wisconsin Badgers in Maui.
It'll be a great experience for the very young 2009 Wildcats who are probably, at this moment (as I type away), enjoying a nice walk along the beach. I, on the other hand, find myself squinting and it is only 4 o'clock in the afternoon--six hours til tip off.
I tried to take a little nap this afternoon, but to no avail, instead I watched the first game of the tournament on my new 42-inch HD Vizio (Great...great picture by the way). I watched the Colorado Buffaloes, a team penciled in as the worst team in the Big 12, give Gonzaga fits. The Zags held on for a 76-72 win and are probably(as I type away),on the way to the beach themselves.
I, on the other hand, will probably eat dinner within the hour, head back to the couch, and continue with my on-going struggle to stay awake. But, while I'm awake, I will give you a few of my pregame thoughts. Wise and Company will have their hands full for the first two rounds. First they'll battle the slow-down offense of the Badgers, and if they can squeeze by Wisconsin, they'll then battle Gonzaga on Tuesday night. Arizona senior guard Nic Wise will have to keep the Wildcats' turnovers to a minimum, and at the same time he'll need his younger teammates to play within themselves. At this point, I feel it could go either way...either it'll be a coming-out party for the young freshmen, namely MoMo Jones, Derrick Williams and Solomon Hill, or it'll go the other way...mistakes galore and it'll be back to the beach. Now, I know I can't sleep!
Wildcats' Update: It's now time for bed. Arizona Wildcats lose to Wisconsin, 65-61. They battle back from 14 down and go close to 10 minutes in the first half without a field goal to make a game of it. Lack of field goals early and a ton of missed free throws through out the game led to defeat. But they hung in there behind the play of freshman Derrick Williams (25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) and at one point even held the lead at 55-54.
The young Wildcats learned a lot and the 5-point loss to the Badgers will pay big dividends down the road. The Wildcats take on Colorado at the Maui Invitational tomorrow (Nov.24) at 2 p.m.
Wildcats' Update: The Arizona Wildcats finished the Hawaii trip with a couple of day games. A little easier on the sleep pattern. As for the games, the Wildcats won one and lost one. On Tuesday, Wise scored 30 as Arizona edged Colorado in overtime, 91-87, but on Wednesday, Vanderbilt (4-1) slid by the Wildcats, 84-72,to grab fifth place in the tourney. Arizona (3-2) returns home to face UNLV on Dec. 2.
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