There is plenty to discuss between Arizona's all-but-official rise back to No. 1 in basketball and the AdvoCare V100 Bowl invite for the football program.
The latter is where we will start:
Football
First, with the bowl picture in the Pac-12 Conference now complete, here is your last look with all the match-ups now set:
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1 vs. Big Ten champion in Pasadena, Calif.): Stanford vs. Michigan State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 30 vs. Big 12 No. 3 selection in San Antonio, Texas): Oregon vs. Texas
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 30 vs. Big 12 No. 5 selection in San Diego): Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31 vs. ACC No. 4 selection in El Paso, Texas): UCLA vs. Virginia Tech
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 21 vs. Mountain West champion in Las Vegas): USC vs. Fresno State
Fight Hunger Bowl (Dec. 27 in San Francisco): Washington vs. Brigham Young
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 21 vs. Mountain West No. 4/5 selection in Albuquerque): Washington State vs. Colorado State
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24 - Mountain West vs. Conference USA in Honolulu): Oregon State vs. Boise State
Advocare V100 (Independence) Bowl (Dec. 31 - SEC No. 10 vs. ACC in Shreveport, La.): Arizona vs. Boston College
"We are very excited about Arizona and Boston College playing in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl," bowl chairman John Hubbard said. "These are two programs on the rise with excellent coaches and high-powered offenses. We look forward to the high-profile running back match-up that will be on display in Shreveport with Andre Williams from Boston College and Ka'Deem Carey from Arizona."
* First, let's start with how the Wildcats ended up outside of the seven Pac-12 bowl tie-ins.
For weeks we have been adamant about the unlikely event of UA returning to the New Mexico Bowl. You just do not see repeat invites to the same bowl in consecutive years often, and San Diego State's invite to play Buffalo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl killed that theory.
The bowl was contingent upon whether Oregon would get invited to the Sugar Bowl. Instead, Oklahoma received the invite to play Alabama because of the larger fan base and the Big 12 has a partnership in place with the bowl starting next season, when there is no longer a BCS.
Had the Ducks been taken, the Las Vegas Bowl would have come into play, just about every Pac-12 team would have moved up - except Washington, which played in last season's Las Vegas Bowl, and UCLA (same reason, but for the Holiday Bowl) - and the Wildcats would have likely leapfrogged the Cougars.
Then, on Sunday morning, Oregon State - in the same 4-5 conference record boat as Arizona and Wazzu - received the news that it would meet Boise State in an extra bowl for the Pac-12. The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is also around the time of the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament, which Arizona won last season, and both the Beavers and Broncos will be playing in it. That made attendance and likelihood to travel attractive and made it possible for the Pac-12 to put all nine bowl-eligible teams in the postseason.
Arizona was basically looking at the Heart of Dallas Bowl and AdvoCare V100 Bowl, among others, and UA head coach Rich Rodriguez said after the announcement that the Wildcats could have landed anywhere.
"We had more teams, obviously, than we had tie-ins," Rodriguez said, "so, a bowl outside of the Pac-12 tie-ins was going to be in play for two or three of us. It could have been anywhere.
"I was just glad we were being considered. You don't want them to be bowl-eligible and not go. We're going somewhere and I think we happened to wind up in a great bowl."
* Proximity - although it will be the farthest Arizona has ever traveled for a bowl game - and alumni connections played a part, too.
There was no word on Arizona's ticket allotment and distribution requirements as of Sunday night, according to senior associate athletic director Erika Barnes. But the school is expected to receive 10,000 tickets and the teams will combine for a $2.3 million bowl payout.
"Coach Rodriguez and Calvin Magee and a lot of our football staff have a lot of ties to that region. We have a great alumni base in that region between Texas and Louisiana," said Barnes, who was the representative at the end-of-the-year banquet with athletic director Greg Byrne in New York for Tedy Bruschi's college football Hall of Fame ceremony.
"So, in terms of traveling, maybe people will make it a New Year's Eve holiday trip. That's our hope."
* You're going to be reading a lot about the Ka'Deem Carey and Andre Williams built-in storyline, one that features the nation's top two rushers and a pair of Doak Walker Award finalists for the biggest prize given annually to the top running back.
Among them is that Williams is currently ninth on the all-time single-season list in college football history. His 2,012 yards is just 84 shy of passing Troy Davis (Iowa State) for fourth place. Like Carey in the Pac-12, he also was the lone unanimous first-team selection in the ACC.
But what about the other storylines?
Well, for starters, Rodriguez said he knows Boston College first-year head coach Steve Addazio from his days in charge of Florida's offensive line from 2005-10, winning two national championships in the process.
Also, in 1989, Rodriguez and current Eagles wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Todd Fitch were both volunteer assistants at West Virginia - where UA defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich served as the outside linebackers coach and UA cornerbacks coach David Lockwood was a graduate assistant, all that same year.
As far as the location is concerned, UA co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Calvin Magee is from New Orleans while cornerback Jonathan McKnight hails from River Ridge. Both cities are about 5 hours away.
Rodriguez said he has been to Shreveport a few times, but the location will otherwise be foreign to the majority of the roster.
Senior wide receiver Terrence Miller, originally from Moreno Valley, Calif., said he know "nothing at all" about Shreveport but is looking forward to the trip.
"I'm pretty sure they have great history, just like we have great history in Tucson," Miller said. "We kind of ask [McKnight] what it's like and he doesn't really know because it's kind of far from where he's from. So it's going to be a learning experience for us once we get there; like what kind of town is it, what's the weather, the people. I'm pretty sure everything will be just as inviting as anywhere else we go."
* Here is the ticket information, for those looking to make the trip, per Arizona's official site:
- Tickets can be purchased by calling (520) 221-CATS (2287) or by visiting the McKale ticket office Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets are $47 ($20 for ZonaZoo members, limit of 2 per student) and will be delivered via FedEx.
- Current Wildcat Club members and/or football season ticket holders will receive preferential seating based on Wildcat Club Priority Points if orders are received by Tuesday, Dec. 10 by noon.
- The deadline to order tickets through Arizona Athletics is Monday, Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. MT.
- The official host hotel in Shreveport will be Sam's Town, located at 315 Clyde Fant Parkway. ZIP code is 71101 and the phone number for the hotel is (318) 424-7777.
Here is more travel information and services, per the bowl's website: http://advocarev100bowl.org/content/travel
* Here is Arizona's initial plan for practices and the early stages of a schedule leading up to the New Year's Eve bowl:
- Since the loss to Arizona State, the Wildcats have had what Rodriguez likened to a fall camp-type practice setting.
- There will be about 12 or 13 practices on campus for Arizona before a few more at the bowl site.
- The coaches spent last week recruiting and will do the same this week before returning Friday, when the team will have a "light" practice. The team also will practice Saturday and Sunday.
- In between final exams the following week, there will be one or two more practices and a few more after finals.
- The players will go home for Christmas for a few days before the team reconvenes in Shreveport for bowl week.
- Among the bowl week festivites will be a 5 p.m. welcome party for both teams on Friday, Dec. 27 at Riverview Hall. The players and coaches will compete in a series of three game shows and there will be audience participation, too. Tickets are $5.
A 7:30 a.m. breakfast with both teams at Bossier Civic Center on Dec. 29 also is open to the public for $5.
A parade and pep rally, complete with Mardi Gras floats, team cheerleaders, bands and mascots, will take place at Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. The event is free.
A fan fest, which will include the local cuisine, games and live music, will begin at 8 a.m. on Dec. 31 at Hirsch Coliseum.
There will be plenty more on the match-up and a much closer look throughout the month leading up to the game, so stay tuned.
Basketball
* With the 63-58 win over UNLV, you can now expect to see Arizona atop both major polls by Monday afternoon.
For UA head coach Sean Miller, the challenge now becomes about maintaining the hold on the top spot.
"All of us can say that we played, coached, watched the No. 1 team in the country," Miller said. "Moving forward, it's like winning the NIT championship in New York - it's something that we put on this year's season's resume, this is something that we feel good about. And, now, the responsibility that comes with it, I think, is very obvious.
"The word chase is what we've used - to chase it, to chase No. 1, to be on the attack - and we can't lose that. One of the things that our team's done a great job of is we've taken every next step and we've been ready for it, and we have to continue to do that."
* No two players were more important than T.J. McConnell and reserve Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Both players flirted with triple-doubles and each played well down the stretch.
Hollis-Jefferson was particularly impressive in the first half, handing out five of his career-high six assists. He also finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
But it was McConnell's show down the stretch, scoring or assisting on Arizona's last five field goals - including his go-ahead basket with 3:10 to play.
The last of his two of his game high-tying six assists provided the dagger, finding Hollis-Jefferson running along the baseline for a dunk and, while driving under the basket, spotting a streaking Brandon Ashley down the lane for a layup.
McConnell tied Ashley with a team-high 13 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
"T.J. is a great leader of the team," UA center Kaleb Tarczewski said. "He really slows the team down, calms us down, and he really runs a team like no other point guard I've ever played with. So kudos to T.J."
* As Hollis-Jefferson was talking about his own unselfish approach and the joy he finds in assisting on baskets, McConnell couldn't help but look over at his teammate and nod in approval with a grin on his face.
This team is a reflection of its point guard and McConnell is the engine. Before the season I had him as an all-conference performer, but now you have to wonder if he is a sleeper for Pac-12 player of the year candidate with how important he is.
McConnell is averaging 7.2 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.39-to-1 that ranks sixth among the top 20 assists leaders in the country. His plus/minus average of 18.8 is in the top 20 in the country.
McConnell has an assist or basket on 34.1 percent of the team's 249 field goals this season.
* With the discussion centered around No. 1 last week, it gave GOAZCATS.com a chance to check in with former Wildcats on the 2002-03 team that was the program's last top-ranked squad.
We got in touch with former point guard Jason Gardner and fellow starter Rick Anderson, and here is what they are up to now:
Gardner is now an assistant at Memphis under former Wildcats walk-on and 1997 national champion Josh Pastner. Gardner said his relationship with Pastner during their time in Tucson together attracted him to the job.
"When I was at Arizona, he was one of the guys and we were always together for different reasons," Gardner said. "I always knew of his work ethic. You would just see him around the office and how he worked, never slept, and he's still the same way today. So you always knew he was going to be successful, and I think that any time you can be around successful people it puts you in a situation to be successful.
"He's always been a great mentor to me during my playing days and after I left Arizona. I think it was just one of those deals where I really respect him and he's a hard worker. When you're around hardworking people it rubs off on you."
As for Anderson, he has a number of different aspects to his life. He is currently living in Irvine, Calif., with a 15-month-old daughter.
Anderson works as a strength and conditioning teacher and P.E. volleyball instructor at Long Beach City College, where he has been the past four months. It also is where his father, Gary, was once the head coach before health reasons forced him into an assistant coach capacity. Fun fact: Gary Anderson played for Lute Olson when he was the head coach at LBCC.
Anderson also is currently an assistant coach at Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif.
Before that, Anderson spent some time as a graduate assistant at Long Beach State. He finished his master's degree last year.
He is unsure whether a coaching career on the collegiate level is for him, but for now he is "coaching and teaching and loving what I do."
"That was my intention, overall. It's good," Anderson said.
And now, here is Matt Moreno's recruiting round-up:
It was definitely an eventful week for both the basketball and football programs at Arizona. The Wildcats are likely to be the No. 1 team in the country Monday, and the football program now knows it will have a New Year's Eve bowl game in Shreveport, La. One the recruiting side of things the Wildcats continue to look at options in both sports as the signing period for football is approaching as well as the thick of the high school recruiting period for hoops.
On the football side of things Rich Rodriguez and his staff have been on the road stopping by to see recruits for in-home visits and they will continue to do so this week as well. Arizona is expected to have quite a few early-enrollee prospects make the move to Tucson within the next month, so a lot of those prospects have been on visit list for UA's coaching staff.
One UA commit is living in Shreveport now, and we caught up with him to talk about the Wildcats coming to his city for their bowl game.
On the basketball side of things the Wildcats remain in a good spot after the bulk of what will be their 2014 class signed last month. While Sean Miller and his staff continue to wait out the process and see who emerges come spring, the 2015 class is the next big group UA will be looking at in the coming months.
There is one prospect in particular who UA has really made it a point to focus on lately, and right now he's certainly noticed the attention from the 'Cats.
So as always there is plenty to discuss, so let's get to it.
Football recruiting
Before we get to the recruiting news for this week, there were still plenty of Arizona commits in action over the weekend. At this point in the year its playoff time around the country in the high school and JUCO ranks. And when you have over 25 commitments in a class there is always a good chance that at least some of those prospects will be playing for championships.
* That is certainly the case for Arizona, and there were quite a few future Wildcats playing for championships all across the country over the weekend. For some the result was something they have been working for all year, while for others the result could have changed some things.
Here's a look at some of the notable games that took place over the weekend involving Arizona commits.
- The trio of Arizona commits from Los Angeles (Calif.) Salesian Rodney Carr, Jamardre Cobb and Marquis Ware finished their playoff run with a victory Saturday night. In that game Salesian's defense - which features all three UA commits - held San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Mission Prep scoreless in a 34-point win for the Mustangs.
Ware is one of the Salesian recruits who plays both ways and the four-star prospect was able to haul in a 17-yard pass for a touchdown in the victory. Salesian came up short last season in the Northeast Division playoffs last year, but this season it came out on top and finished the year with a 12-2 record.
- While UA commits Patrick Glover and Antonio Smothers have been a big part of the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Scottsdale CC defense this season, but in Saturday's Valley of the Sun Bowl it was the offense that really had to put in the work. Scottsdale pulled out a 50-42 victory over Dodge City (Kan.) Dodge City CC in that contest.
With the win Scottsdale CC moved to 10-1 on the season and finished the year as the No. 4 JUCO team in the country.
- Although Arizona running back commit Jonathan Haden's squad from Friendship Academy in Washington, D.C., was the favored team heading into last weekend's AA championship game that would not determine the outcome. Haden's squad wasn't able to handle what fellow D.C. squad HD Woodson had for them and ended up dropping the championship game by a score of 25-8.
Haden's team, which also features five-star UA target Jalen Tabor, finished the year with a 7-5 record.
- So far this season heading into last weekend's Pac-5 title game no team had been able to claim victory over cornerback commit Naijiel Hale's team from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco this season. That continued to be the case after another battle with its Trinity League foe Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei.
In that championship game the Braves capped off a perfect season (so far) with a 34-7 victory over Mater Dei. With the victory St. John Bosco assured itself a spot in the state playoffs now where it will face Corona (Calif.) Centennial this week.
- UA cornerback commit Kwesi Mashack and his team from Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta knew it would have a tough task on its hands when it faced Centennial over the weekend. Centennial had set plenty of records the week before, including a national record for yards. However, Mashack's squad had been on a run of its own with a big part of that coming from the efforts of the Broncos' defense.
In the end Vista Murrieta would come up short in the Inland Division title game as it fell 26-12. However, nobody can say that Mashack didn't do his part. The future Wildcat intercepted two more passes in the contest, but it ended up not being enough for his team to pull out the victory.
The big game by Mashack was just the latest in a string of outstanding performances by the two-star recruit.
* When it became clear Sunday that Arizona was going to be headed to the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La., there was certainly one prospect who was very excited about that game. The Wildcats have a commitment from 2016 quarterback recruit Shea Patterson, and the signal caller now lives in Shreveport.
"It means everything," Patterson told GOAZCATS.com Sunday evening. "I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to go out there and watch them play, but it's going to be awesome to come see them play here in Shreveport."
Patterson has one game left in his sophomore season at Calvary Baptist and he will be playing on the Superdome for the state title later this week.
We'll have more with the UA commit in a separate update.
* The Wildcats have a pretty full class already in the 2014 recruiting cycle, however there remain some prospects the program has its eye on. One of those is five-star target Jalen Tabor. The Friendship Academy star has already visited Tucson on an official visit, and over the weekend he visited another school remaining on his list.
Tabor spent the weekend at Florida, and by all accounts things went well for the five-star cornerback.
"It went very well," Tabor told Rivals.com. "I got to talk to the coaches and see everything again. We saw the stadium and talked to all the academic people and hang out with the coaches."
The Rivals100 recruit still plans to visit Alabama officially and now the sense is that Nick Saban's squad could be building some steam with Tabor. Arizona continues to sit in a decent spot, but there are plenty who believe Maryland and Alabama might be building up some steam. I wouldn't count out the Wildcats yet as UA continues to make a strong push for him, and he enjoyed his time in Tucson.
Tabor's plan for now is to make his decision by Christmas Day and then announce that choice at the Under Armour All-American game on Jan. 2.
Basketball recruiting
On the basketball side of things the Wildcats continue to wait out things with the 2014 class until the spring when a variety of things could happen. At this point Miller and his staff will continue to look at potential options, but they will have a better feel for where things stand in terms of available spots by the spring. At that point you could see the 'Cats add a transfer or a late bloomer, which will likely come in the front court.
As things stand now the Wildcats have started to focus more on the 2015 class as that is the next group up. UA is targeting quite a few of the top 20 prospects in the class, and it is also doing well with a number of those recruits.
* One such prospect is five-star combo guard Tyler Dorsey. The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco star helped his team earn a victory in Chicago over the weekend, and he has become quite the popular recruit among some of the nation's top programs. Arizona has been involved with Dorsey for quite some time now and that remains the case as he is one of the top prospects in the West.
"They've been on me since the 8th grade. They've been on me the hardest," Dorsey said about the 'Cats. "Me and that coach over there have a good relationship and they are doing good this year. I think they are ranked number one now so they are looking real good. Aaron Gordon, I like how they are using him."
As things stand now Dorsey is nowhere near making a decision as he continues to look at his options.
"I'm just taking time building relationships and actually watching this college hoops now," he said. "There's a lot of good games out there." "I look for the style of play and my position. How they use their point guard in the system."
* Arizona commit Craig Victor and his Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep teammate Derryck Thornton were on campus Saturday for the Wildcats big win over UNLV. Thornton is a 2016 point guard who Arizona has targeted early in the process.
The latter is where we will start:
Football
First, with the bowl picture in the Pac-12 Conference now complete, here is your last look with all the match-ups now set:
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1 vs. Big Ten champion in Pasadena, Calif.): Stanford vs. Michigan State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 30 vs. Big 12 No. 3 selection in San Antonio, Texas): Oregon vs. Texas
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 30 vs. Big 12 No. 5 selection in San Diego): Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31 vs. ACC No. 4 selection in El Paso, Texas): UCLA vs. Virginia Tech
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 21 vs. Mountain West champion in Las Vegas): USC vs. Fresno State
Fight Hunger Bowl (Dec. 27 in San Francisco): Washington vs. Brigham Young
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 21 vs. Mountain West No. 4/5 selection in Albuquerque): Washington State vs. Colorado State
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24 - Mountain West vs. Conference USA in Honolulu): Oregon State vs. Boise State
Advocare V100 (Independence) Bowl (Dec. 31 - SEC No. 10 vs. ACC in Shreveport, La.): Arizona vs. Boston College
"We are very excited about Arizona and Boston College playing in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl," bowl chairman John Hubbard said. "These are two programs on the rise with excellent coaches and high-powered offenses. We look forward to the high-profile running back match-up that will be on display in Shreveport with Andre Williams from Boston College and Ka'Deem Carey from Arizona."
* First, let's start with how the Wildcats ended up outside of the seven Pac-12 bowl tie-ins.
For weeks we have been adamant about the unlikely event of UA returning to the New Mexico Bowl. You just do not see repeat invites to the same bowl in consecutive years often, and San Diego State's invite to play Buffalo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl killed that theory.
The bowl was contingent upon whether Oregon would get invited to the Sugar Bowl. Instead, Oklahoma received the invite to play Alabama because of the larger fan base and the Big 12 has a partnership in place with the bowl starting next season, when there is no longer a BCS.
Had the Ducks been taken, the Las Vegas Bowl would have come into play, just about every Pac-12 team would have moved up - except Washington, which played in last season's Las Vegas Bowl, and UCLA (same reason, but for the Holiday Bowl) - and the Wildcats would have likely leapfrogged the Cougars.
Then, on Sunday morning, Oregon State - in the same 4-5 conference record boat as Arizona and Wazzu - received the news that it would meet Boise State in an extra bowl for the Pac-12. The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is also around the time of the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament, which Arizona won last season, and both the Beavers and Broncos will be playing in it. That made attendance and likelihood to travel attractive and made it possible for the Pac-12 to put all nine bowl-eligible teams in the postseason.
Arizona was basically looking at the Heart of Dallas Bowl and AdvoCare V100 Bowl, among others, and UA head coach Rich Rodriguez said after the announcement that the Wildcats could have landed anywhere.
"We had more teams, obviously, than we had tie-ins," Rodriguez said, "so, a bowl outside of the Pac-12 tie-ins was going to be in play for two or three of us. It could have been anywhere.
"I was just glad we were being considered. You don't want them to be bowl-eligible and not go. We're going somewhere and I think we happened to wind up in a great bowl."
* Proximity - although it will be the farthest Arizona has ever traveled for a bowl game - and alumni connections played a part, too.
There was no word on Arizona's ticket allotment and distribution requirements as of Sunday night, according to senior associate athletic director Erika Barnes. But the school is expected to receive 10,000 tickets and the teams will combine for a $2.3 million bowl payout.
"Coach Rodriguez and Calvin Magee and a lot of our football staff have a lot of ties to that region. We have a great alumni base in that region between Texas and Louisiana," said Barnes, who was the representative at the end-of-the-year banquet with athletic director Greg Byrne in New York for Tedy Bruschi's college football Hall of Fame ceremony.
"So, in terms of traveling, maybe people will make it a New Year's Eve holiday trip. That's our hope."
* You're going to be reading a lot about the Ka'Deem Carey and Andre Williams built-in storyline, one that features the nation's top two rushers and a pair of Doak Walker Award finalists for the biggest prize given annually to the top running back.
Among them is that Williams is currently ninth on the all-time single-season list in college football history. His 2,012 yards is just 84 shy of passing Troy Davis (Iowa State) for fourth place. Like Carey in the Pac-12, he also was the lone unanimous first-team selection in the ACC.
But what about the other storylines?
Well, for starters, Rodriguez said he knows Boston College first-year head coach Steve Addazio from his days in charge of Florida's offensive line from 2005-10, winning two national championships in the process.
Also, in 1989, Rodriguez and current Eagles wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Todd Fitch were both volunteer assistants at West Virginia - where UA defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich served as the outside linebackers coach and UA cornerbacks coach David Lockwood was a graduate assistant, all that same year.
As far as the location is concerned, UA co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Calvin Magee is from New Orleans while cornerback Jonathan McKnight hails from River Ridge. Both cities are about 5 hours away.
Rodriguez said he has been to Shreveport a few times, but the location will otherwise be foreign to the majority of the roster.
Senior wide receiver Terrence Miller, originally from Moreno Valley, Calif., said he know "nothing at all" about Shreveport but is looking forward to the trip.
"I'm pretty sure they have great history, just like we have great history in Tucson," Miller said. "We kind of ask [McKnight] what it's like and he doesn't really know because it's kind of far from where he's from. So it's going to be a learning experience for us once we get there; like what kind of town is it, what's the weather, the people. I'm pretty sure everything will be just as inviting as anywhere else we go."
* Here is the ticket information, for those looking to make the trip, per Arizona's official site:
- Tickets can be purchased by calling (520) 221-CATS (2287) or by visiting the McKale ticket office Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets are $47 ($20 for ZonaZoo members, limit of 2 per student) and will be delivered via FedEx.
- Current Wildcat Club members and/or football season ticket holders will receive preferential seating based on Wildcat Club Priority Points if orders are received by Tuesday, Dec. 10 by noon.
- The deadline to order tickets through Arizona Athletics is Monday, Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. MT.
- The official host hotel in Shreveport will be Sam's Town, located at 315 Clyde Fant Parkway. ZIP code is 71101 and the phone number for the hotel is (318) 424-7777.
Here is more travel information and services, per the bowl's website: http://advocarev100bowl.org/content/travel
* Here is Arizona's initial plan for practices and the early stages of a schedule leading up to the New Year's Eve bowl:
- Since the loss to Arizona State, the Wildcats have had what Rodriguez likened to a fall camp-type practice setting.
- There will be about 12 or 13 practices on campus for Arizona before a few more at the bowl site.
- The coaches spent last week recruiting and will do the same this week before returning Friday, when the team will have a "light" practice. The team also will practice Saturday and Sunday.
- In between final exams the following week, there will be one or two more practices and a few more after finals.
- The players will go home for Christmas for a few days before the team reconvenes in Shreveport for bowl week.
- Among the bowl week festivites will be a 5 p.m. welcome party for both teams on Friday, Dec. 27 at Riverview Hall. The players and coaches will compete in a series of three game shows and there will be audience participation, too. Tickets are $5.
A 7:30 a.m. breakfast with both teams at Bossier Civic Center on Dec. 29 also is open to the public for $5.
A parade and pep rally, complete with Mardi Gras floats, team cheerleaders, bands and mascots, will take place at Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. The event is free.
A fan fest, which will include the local cuisine, games and live music, will begin at 8 a.m. on Dec. 31 at Hirsch Coliseum.
There will be plenty more on the match-up and a much closer look throughout the month leading up to the game, so stay tuned.
Basketball
* With the 63-58 win over UNLV, you can now expect to see Arizona atop both major polls by Monday afternoon.
For UA head coach Sean Miller, the challenge now becomes about maintaining the hold on the top spot.
"All of us can say that we played, coached, watched the No. 1 team in the country," Miller said. "Moving forward, it's like winning the NIT championship in New York - it's something that we put on this year's season's resume, this is something that we feel good about. And, now, the responsibility that comes with it, I think, is very obvious.
"The word chase is what we've used - to chase it, to chase No. 1, to be on the attack - and we can't lose that. One of the things that our team's done a great job of is we've taken every next step and we've been ready for it, and we have to continue to do that."
* No two players were more important than T.J. McConnell and reserve Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Both players flirted with triple-doubles and each played well down the stretch.
Hollis-Jefferson was particularly impressive in the first half, handing out five of his career-high six assists. He also finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
But it was McConnell's show down the stretch, scoring or assisting on Arizona's last five field goals - including his go-ahead basket with 3:10 to play.
The last of his two of his game high-tying six assists provided the dagger, finding Hollis-Jefferson running along the baseline for a dunk and, while driving under the basket, spotting a streaking Brandon Ashley down the lane for a layup.
McConnell tied Ashley with a team-high 13 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
"T.J. is a great leader of the team," UA center Kaleb Tarczewski said. "He really slows the team down, calms us down, and he really runs a team like no other point guard I've ever played with. So kudos to T.J."
* As Hollis-Jefferson was talking about his own unselfish approach and the joy he finds in assisting on baskets, McConnell couldn't help but look over at his teammate and nod in approval with a grin on his face.
This team is a reflection of its point guard and McConnell is the engine. Before the season I had him as an all-conference performer, but now you have to wonder if he is a sleeper for Pac-12 player of the year candidate with how important he is.
McConnell is averaging 7.2 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.39-to-1 that ranks sixth among the top 20 assists leaders in the country. His plus/minus average of 18.8 is in the top 20 in the country.
McConnell has an assist or basket on 34.1 percent of the team's 249 field goals this season.
* With the discussion centered around No. 1 last week, it gave GOAZCATS.com a chance to check in with former Wildcats on the 2002-03 team that was the program's last top-ranked squad.
We got in touch with former point guard Jason Gardner and fellow starter Rick Anderson, and here is what they are up to now:
Gardner is now an assistant at Memphis under former Wildcats walk-on and 1997 national champion Josh Pastner. Gardner said his relationship with Pastner during their time in Tucson together attracted him to the job.
"When I was at Arizona, he was one of the guys and we were always together for different reasons," Gardner said. "I always knew of his work ethic. You would just see him around the office and how he worked, never slept, and he's still the same way today. So you always knew he was going to be successful, and I think that any time you can be around successful people it puts you in a situation to be successful.
"He's always been a great mentor to me during my playing days and after I left Arizona. I think it was just one of those deals where I really respect him and he's a hard worker. When you're around hardworking people it rubs off on you."
As for Anderson, he has a number of different aspects to his life. He is currently living in Irvine, Calif., with a 15-month-old daughter.
Anderson works as a strength and conditioning teacher and P.E. volleyball instructor at Long Beach City College, where he has been the past four months. It also is where his father, Gary, was once the head coach before health reasons forced him into an assistant coach capacity. Fun fact: Gary Anderson played for Lute Olson when he was the head coach at LBCC.
Anderson also is currently an assistant coach at Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif.
Before that, Anderson spent some time as a graduate assistant at Long Beach State. He finished his master's degree last year.
He is unsure whether a coaching career on the collegiate level is for him, but for now he is "coaching and teaching and loving what I do."
"That was my intention, overall. It's good," Anderson said.
And now, here is Matt Moreno's recruiting round-up:
It was definitely an eventful week for both the basketball and football programs at Arizona. The Wildcats are likely to be the No. 1 team in the country Monday, and the football program now knows it will have a New Year's Eve bowl game in Shreveport, La. One the recruiting side of things the Wildcats continue to look at options in both sports as the signing period for football is approaching as well as the thick of the high school recruiting period for hoops.
On the football side of things Rich Rodriguez and his staff have been on the road stopping by to see recruits for in-home visits and they will continue to do so this week as well. Arizona is expected to have quite a few early-enrollee prospects make the move to Tucson within the next month, so a lot of those prospects have been on visit list for UA's coaching staff.
One UA commit is living in Shreveport now, and we caught up with him to talk about the Wildcats coming to his city for their bowl game.
On the basketball side of things the Wildcats remain in a good spot after the bulk of what will be their 2014 class signed last month. While Sean Miller and his staff continue to wait out the process and see who emerges come spring, the 2015 class is the next big group UA will be looking at in the coming months.
There is one prospect in particular who UA has really made it a point to focus on lately, and right now he's certainly noticed the attention from the 'Cats.
So as always there is plenty to discuss, so let's get to it.
Football recruiting
Before we get to the recruiting news for this week, there were still plenty of Arizona commits in action over the weekend. At this point in the year its playoff time around the country in the high school and JUCO ranks. And when you have over 25 commitments in a class there is always a good chance that at least some of those prospects will be playing for championships.
* That is certainly the case for Arizona, and there were quite a few future Wildcats playing for championships all across the country over the weekend. For some the result was something they have been working for all year, while for others the result could have changed some things.
Here's a look at some of the notable games that took place over the weekend involving Arizona commits.
- The trio of Arizona commits from Los Angeles (Calif.) Salesian Rodney Carr, Jamardre Cobb and Marquis Ware finished their playoff run with a victory Saturday night. In that game Salesian's defense - which features all three UA commits - held San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Mission Prep scoreless in a 34-point win for the Mustangs.
Ware is one of the Salesian recruits who plays both ways and the four-star prospect was able to haul in a 17-yard pass for a touchdown in the victory. Salesian came up short last season in the Northeast Division playoffs last year, but this season it came out on top and finished the year with a 12-2 record.
- While UA commits Patrick Glover and Antonio Smothers have been a big part of the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Scottsdale CC defense this season, but in Saturday's Valley of the Sun Bowl it was the offense that really had to put in the work. Scottsdale pulled out a 50-42 victory over Dodge City (Kan.) Dodge City CC in that contest.
With the win Scottsdale CC moved to 10-1 on the season and finished the year as the No. 4 JUCO team in the country.
- Although Arizona running back commit Jonathan Haden's squad from Friendship Academy in Washington, D.C., was the favored team heading into last weekend's AA championship game that would not determine the outcome. Haden's squad wasn't able to handle what fellow D.C. squad HD Woodson had for them and ended up dropping the championship game by a score of 25-8.
Haden's team, which also features five-star UA target Jalen Tabor, finished the year with a 7-5 record.
- So far this season heading into last weekend's Pac-5 title game no team had been able to claim victory over cornerback commit Naijiel Hale's team from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco this season. That continued to be the case after another battle with its Trinity League foe Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei.
In that championship game the Braves capped off a perfect season (so far) with a 34-7 victory over Mater Dei. With the victory St. John Bosco assured itself a spot in the state playoffs now where it will face Corona (Calif.) Centennial this week.
- UA cornerback commit Kwesi Mashack and his team from Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta knew it would have a tough task on its hands when it faced Centennial over the weekend. Centennial had set plenty of records the week before, including a national record for yards. However, Mashack's squad had been on a run of its own with a big part of that coming from the efforts of the Broncos' defense.
In the end Vista Murrieta would come up short in the Inland Division title game as it fell 26-12. However, nobody can say that Mashack didn't do his part. The future Wildcat intercepted two more passes in the contest, but it ended up not being enough for his team to pull out the victory.
The big game by Mashack was just the latest in a string of outstanding performances by the two-star recruit.
* When it became clear Sunday that Arizona was going to be headed to the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La., there was certainly one prospect who was very excited about that game. The Wildcats have a commitment from 2016 quarterback recruit Shea Patterson, and the signal caller now lives in Shreveport.
"It means everything," Patterson told GOAZCATS.com Sunday evening. "I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to go out there and watch them play, but it's going to be awesome to come see them play here in Shreveport."
Patterson has one game left in his sophomore season at Calvary Baptist and he will be playing on the Superdome for the state title later this week.
We'll have more with the UA commit in a separate update.
* The Wildcats have a pretty full class already in the 2014 recruiting cycle, however there remain some prospects the program has its eye on. One of those is five-star target Jalen Tabor. The Friendship Academy star has already visited Tucson on an official visit, and over the weekend he visited another school remaining on his list.
Tabor spent the weekend at Florida, and by all accounts things went well for the five-star cornerback.
"It went very well," Tabor told Rivals.com. "I got to talk to the coaches and see everything again. We saw the stadium and talked to all the academic people and hang out with the coaches."
The Rivals100 recruit still plans to visit Alabama officially and now the sense is that Nick Saban's squad could be building some steam with Tabor. Arizona continues to sit in a decent spot, but there are plenty who believe Maryland and Alabama might be building up some steam. I wouldn't count out the Wildcats yet as UA continues to make a strong push for him, and he enjoyed his time in Tucson.
Tabor's plan for now is to make his decision by Christmas Day and then announce that choice at the Under Armour All-American game on Jan. 2.
Basketball recruiting
On the basketball side of things the Wildcats continue to wait out things with the 2014 class until the spring when a variety of things could happen. At this point Miller and his staff will continue to look at potential options, but they will have a better feel for where things stand in terms of available spots by the spring. At that point you could see the 'Cats add a transfer or a late bloomer, which will likely come in the front court.
As things stand now the Wildcats have started to focus more on the 2015 class as that is the next group up. UA is targeting quite a few of the top 20 prospects in the class, and it is also doing well with a number of those recruits.
* One such prospect is five-star combo guard Tyler Dorsey. The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco star helped his team earn a victory in Chicago over the weekend, and he has become quite the popular recruit among some of the nation's top programs. Arizona has been involved with Dorsey for quite some time now and that remains the case as he is one of the top prospects in the West.
"They've been on me since the 8th grade. They've been on me the hardest," Dorsey said about the 'Cats. "Me and that coach over there have a good relationship and they are doing good this year. I think they are ranked number one now so they are looking real good. Aaron Gordon, I like how they are using him."
As things stand now Dorsey is nowhere near making a decision as he continues to look at his options.
"I'm just taking time building relationships and actually watching this college hoops now," he said. "There's a lot of good games out there." "I look for the style of play and my position. How they use their point guard in the system."
* Arizona commit Craig Victor and his Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep teammate Derryck Thornton were on campus Saturday for the Wildcats big win over UNLV. Thornton is a 2016 point guard who Arizona has targeted early in the process.
