Wildcats edge UNLV, eye the top spot in the country

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


On a night when the shots weren't falling, the second-ranked Arizona Wildcats find a way to win.

The Wildcats edge UNLV, 63-58, thanks to the second-half play by point-guard T.J. McConnell at McKale today to improve to 9-0 on the season and should be awarded the No. 1 spot  in the country when the next AP Poll is released on Monday.

It wasn't easy disposing of UNLV as the Wildcats shot 41 percent from the field, making 28 of 67 shots and were forced to battle back after being down 42-39 at the half. With McConnell at the helm, the Wildcats outscored the Running Rebels in the second half 24-16. McConnell finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Brandon Ashley chipped in 13 points as well, while Kaleb Tarczewski and Nick Johnson added 12 apiece. Johnson was 4 of 15 from the field. Aaron Gordon went 2 of 10 from the field for four points, but hauled in eight rebounds to tie Tarczewski in that category.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson came off the bench once again and filled the stats sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Congrats, to the No. 1 Wildcats!

Arizona Wildcats on the verge of a No. 1 ranking

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


With a win on Saturday afternoon over visiting UNLV, the Arizona Wildcats could be and should be the No. 1 team in college basketball.

Michigan State, the top-ranked team the past three weeks, lost at home tonight to the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels, 79-65, opening the door for second-ranked Arizona to vault to No. 1.

The Wildcats (8-0) will need to take care of business at McKale and dispose of UNLV (3-3) on Saturday. One of the Runnin' Rebels three losses this season was to Arizona State. The Sun Devils beat UNLV in Las Vegas by a score of 86-80 on Nov. 19.

Go get 'em, Wildcats!

Wildcats crush Red Raiders

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The second-ranked Arizona Wildcats toyed with Texas Tech tonight at McKale Center en route to an easy 79-58 win over the Red Raiders.

Too many turnovers, too many missed free throws and a couple of ill advised dunk attempts from the Wildcats, but they still cruised to their eighth win of the year as they unleashed plenty of firepower with three players -- Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Brandon Ashley -- combining for 55 points. Ashley grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double and point guard T.J. McConnell dished out 10 assists, grabbed five rebounds and scored five points.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson continues to produce off the bench with nine points and eight rebounds, while Gabe York, despite going 3 for 10 from the field, netted eight points to go along with two rebounds and two assists.

Still, you get the feeling Coach Sean Miller will have a lot to say to his troops before next Saturday's home encounter with UNLV.

The Wildcats made 19 of 33 free throws, that's an improvement of sorts over previous games, but still that's 14 points down the drain and as for the turnovers, 15 in all on the night. Of course, when you hit 50 percent of your shots (25-50), knock down 10 of 22 from beyond the three-point line and grab 43 rebounds to your opponents 23, you can get away with a few negatives.

One thing is for sure, this team is GOOD!

So that's enough nitpicking. Way to go, Wildcats!

A little rain, Thanksgiving holiday kept TOTS' games to a minimum in November

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball


A little bit of rain and the Thanksgiving holiday cut into "playing time" for the members of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club, but it certainly didn't hurt the all-around batting statistics of 63-year-old Lloyd Barzell during the month of November.

Barzell played in all eight games in November and collected 18 hits in 25 trips to the plate for a sizzling .730 average. He scored nine runs, second only to Brian Reilly who crossed the plate 12 times, while knocking in 10 runs, which tied him for second in that category.

Tim Tolson was the RBI leader for the month with 15, while Pete Peters ended up with 10 and Pigpen Price was fourth with eight runs batted in.

Tolson went 10 for 17 (.568), Peters hit safely 10 times in 24 trips to the plate for a .417 average, while Reilly went 11 for 26 for a .423 average.

Other top hitters for the month include: Bob Daliege (6 for 14, .429 in just five games), Dennis Crowley (8 for 17, .471 in six games) and Ron Carlson (8 for 24, .333 in eight games).

The TOTS close out the year with 11 games scheduled for the month of December.

Team Priceless garners fifth-seed for playoffs in fantasy league

UPC Hood Fantasy Football League

Team Priceless


My fantasy team, Team Priceless, didn't fare to well in Week 13 of the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League.

The bad news for my 8-5 team included a dismal performance in Seattle from my quarterback Drew Brees as the Saints (9-3) were blown out of the stadium, losing 34-7 to the Seahawks (11-1).

Could any NFL team have beaten the Seahawks on Monday night? What a total domination and the crowd, where do they find such crazy football fans?

I hope Brees can recoup this week because I could certainly use some fantasy points from him next Sunday against Carolina as I go up against Nut Rub (8-5) in the first round of the playoffs. As luck would have it, I will go up against Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.

The good news is Team Priceless made the playoffs for the first time in four years and the eight wins is the most games I've won since becoming a member of the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League.

Of course, the team to beat this year is Three Feet Right (11-2). They own the top spot heading into the playoffs, while the Assassins (10-3) own the second seed. Team Arps (9-4) will be the third seed, Nut Rub the fourth and my Team Priceless ends up with the fifth seed. The Peach Fuzz Manholes gets the sixth seed with a 7- 6 record.

Wish me luck.

Arizona Wildcats ranked 2nd in the country

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


With its win over Duke in the NIT Season Tip-off title game at Madison Square Gardens last week, the Arizona basketball team moves to No. 2 in the country according to the latest AP Poll, released today.

Only Michigan State garnered enough votes to stay in first place. Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State round out the top five. Duke falls to the 10th spot.

Arizona takes on Texas Tech tomorrow night at McKale.

Keep it going, Wildcats!

There was no way out

Arizona Wildcats Football


As the clocked ticked away the final seconds of the first quarter it was obvious the Arizona Wildcats were in trouble.

In front of 72,000 screaming fans at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe last night, the Wildcats were in over their head and not even the top running back in the nation, Ka'Deem Carey, would turn out to be the problem solver on this night.

It was all ASU from the get-go, a 13-0 lead at the end of the quarter, a 30-7 bulge by halftime, a 44-21 margin at the end of the third quarter and, sadly, a 58-21 final in favor of the bad guys.

The worst beating -- the most lopsided loss since 1996. A week ago, the Wildcats were giant killers as they knocked off Oregon at Arizona Stadium. Last night, Arizona was simply "roadkill" as the Sun Devils rolled…and rolled…and rolled.

The sting of the loss will remain in the minds of the Wildcats for a long time to come. In fact, it just may keep the fire burning inside of Carey to the point that he just might return in 2014 to build on those 4,000-plus rushing yards.

The Wildcats have a lot of work to do and this Arizona fan, for one, hopes Carey will return to lead the charge.

It might be wishful thinking on my part, but after watching Carey perform week in and week out, and then witnessing his demeanor on the Wildcats' sideline as the final second ticked away last night, I get the feeling the young man is looking ahead to a November night at Arizona Stadium in 2014 when Carey and Company get their payback.

But, that's just me thinking. I'm a diehard Wildcat fan and I've tried all season to put myself in Carey's cleats and run up and down the football field and just "feel" the excitement as I dart left and right and then carry two would-be-tacklers into the end zone with me.

Come back, Carey. We need you!