Arizona and March Madness

[Deb]

The title of this thread kinda saddens me. Arizona's showing in March has been dismal the last four seasons, and each year I hope again the Cats can do something postseason. One sweet sixteen, two humiliating first round exits to Wichita St and Buffalo, plus a no show. That is not progressing. Lute had us in the ncaa's for 23 postseasons in a row. Now we have to cross our fingers that three potential draft first rounders and a coach who's been here over a decade can get us a 7-9 seed. When they've yet to show they can win a road game or beat a ranked team.

"Just get there and with some luck, who knows what they can do!" - you say?  When has our luck been on the right side of the bounce? If we fail postseason again, we lose 6 or so guys and start with a whole new batch again next year who struggle to learn the packline. But we look good in our OOC vs the creampuffs and so us fans get all excited til we fail to win vs any team with a pulse. And we'll wait for the next big game wishing we can beat someone good so it will verify our dreams of making it to the new low bar of a sweet 16. Cuz God forbid any Zona fan should expect more.

Rinse and repeat.

[arxpert]

I don't count losses until they happen. You might end up surprised. Miller has 5 titles in 10 years for a reason right? Some of which came in those seasons the above poster is tilting about

[Wildcat4life]

PAC titles? You make me laugh, thanks I need a good laugh!

[KansasCityCats]

Arizona has NEVER won a Pac title in football.  Winning 50% of your conference championships against a Pac-12 that doesn't generally have more than 1-2 cupcakes is an impressive accomplishment. 

As long as the fans are engaged & excited on an annual basis, Miller is doing something right.  As Walton constantly pounds into our brains, Arizona has led the league in attendance for 30-something years (which says a lot about our fanbase AND coaching staffs).

[jumpinjohnny]

PAC titles? You make me laugh, thanks I need a good laugh!

Interesting take. You do realize that there's life away from the Dance, don't you. Winning a conference title, regardless of the conference, is an accomplishment, one the players will remember the rest of their lives, particularly when they look at the ring they earned. All conference champions but one end up falling short of the ultimate goal. Should we put a stop to conference play? Just curious--How many national championships did you win in your years as a hoopster? If none, maybe you should sit this one out.

[jumpinjohnny]

Arizona has NEVER won a Pac title in football.  Winning 50% of your conference championships against a Pac-12 that doesn't generally have more than 1-2 cupcakes is an impressive accomplishment. 

As long as the fans are engaged & excited on an annual basis, Miller is doing something right.  As Walton constantly pounds into our brains, Arizona has led the league in attendance for 30-something years (which says a lot about our fanbase AND coaching staffs).

Yes and yes.

[Wildcat4life]

You do realize that the PAC is a weak Basketball conference over the last 10 years. One final four team over the last 17 years. The same people that make a big deal about PAC championships are the same people that discredit Kansas for the same reasons. As for Johnny's statement about my Basketball accomplishments what does that have to do with anything?

[jumpinjohnny]

The title of this thread kinda saddens me. Arizona's showing in March has been dismal the last four seasons, and each year I hope again the Cats can do something postseason. One sweet sixteen, two humiliating first round exits to Wichita St and Buffalo, plus a no show. That is not progressing. Lute had us in the ncaa's for 23 postseasons in a row. Now we have to cross our fingers that three potential draft first rounders and a coach who's been here over a decade can get us a 7-9 seed. When they've yet to show they can win a road game or beat a ranked team.

"Just get there and with some luck, who knows what they can do!" - you say?  When has our luck been on the right side of the bounce? If we fail postseason again, we lose 6 or so guys and start with a whole new batch again next year who struggle to learn the packline. But we look good in our OOC vs the creampuffs and so us fans get all excited til we fail to win vs any team with a pulse. And we'll wait for the next big game wishing we can beat someone good so it will verify our dreams of making it to the new low bar of a sweet 16. Cuz God forbid any Zona fan should expect more.

Rinse and repeat.

Given all that you've presented, and for the sake of your mental health, now might be a good time to cut ties. Because rinsing and repeating a mostly successful outcome, one that may not be going away anytime soon, is not such a bad option. Sometimes, just being grateful for what you have, instead of coveting what others have, is in your best interest.

[Wildcat4life]

Rinse and repeat first round exits and not being invited to the NCAA at all is not a great outcome. A top tier program doesn't Perron to the level the the Cats have over the past 6 years. All the Miller homers need to open their eyes and see the truth. I'll be the first to admit that I'm wrong about Miller and the state of the program, when the direction changes.

[jumpinjohnny]

You do realize that the PAC is a weak Basketball conference over the last 10 years. One final four team over the last 17 years. The same people that make a big deal about PAC championships are the same people that discredit Kansas for the same reasons. As for Johnny's statement about my Basketball accomplishments what does that have to do with anything?

. . . and you do realize that most of the D-1 conferences are even weaker than the Pac, and only a few are stronger. Yet they all play out the season in the hope of winning a conference title and collecting that championship ring. The fact that they don't win the Big One doesn't and won't diminish that accomplishment.

Accomplishments--and failures--have everything to do with the point I'm trying to make. For the players, it's the journey they'll remember . . . for the fans, it's the bottom line, and for many fans, that's a huge disappointment.
If you played the game and earned the memories that came with winning and losing, I think you're in a better position to be objective.