Hi everyone, I am getting the game thread up with five hours until tip-off of the Pac-12 tournament semi-finals between No. 2 Arizona and No. 6 Arizona State at T-Mobile Arena.

Notes: This will be a revenge game for the Wildcats with the Sun Devils upsetting Arizona 89-88 on a last-second 60-foot heave to beat the buzzer the last time the two teams met less than a month ago at McKale Center.

Hi everyone, I am getting the game thread up with seven and a half hours until tip-off where No. 2 seed Arizona will kick off the Pac-12 tournament against No. 10 Stanford.

This will be a revenge game for the Wildcats as they will play a team that they got upset to 88-79 just under a month ago.

A key players to look out for Arizona will be Azuolas Tubelis who struggled last time against the Cardinal, only scoring four points along with early foul trouble. (This game will also be days after Tubelis missed out on the Pac-12 player of the year award.)

GAME INFO
Who: No. 2 Arizona (25-6, 14-6 Pac-12) vs. No. 10 Stanford (14-18, 7-13 Pac-12)
When: 7 p.m. (MST)
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: Pac-12 Networks

The final game of the regular season has arrived and it's a big one in the finale for Arizona. The Wildcats face UCLA in Pauley Pavilion tonight, and we'll have updates throughout the game. Join in the conversation as UA closes out the regular season against a rival.

Here are the starters:

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Monday is always the newsy day of the week for college athletics, and this is the final time weekly honors will come out or matter with the basketball season transition to the postseason. For Arizona, the last AP Top 25 poll before the start of the Pac-12 Tournament meant no move at all despite the loss to UCLA over the weekend. The Wildcats splitting the LA road trip led to voters keeping UA idle at No. 8 overall on the list, but the game on Saturday night had a bigger benefit for UCLA. The Bruins now sit at No. 2 overall in the AP Top 25 rankings after sweeping the Arizona schools.

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It is also the final week for the Pac-12 weekly awards, and Arizona finished the regular season with one of its players earning an honor. Azuolas Tubelis had a strong showing in Los Angeles but he was beat out by UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr.. However, freshman guard Kylan Boswell's production in his return to Southern California didn't go unnoticed as he has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 14 points against USC and UCLA. He's the first UA player to win the award since Azuolas Tubelis was honored as the freshman of the week back in 2021.

Arizona had three players win weekly honors this season with Tubelis being named the Pac-12 Player of the Week twice this season while center Oumar Ballo earned that distinction as well early in the season on Nov. 28.

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The UA women have hit a difficult stretch as of late losing three consecutive games and being bounced from the Pac-12 Tournament after just one round of action. Their tumble down the AP Top 25 continued Monday as the Wildcats now sit at No. 24 entering the NCAA Tournament. Arizona went from looking like a near-lock to host next week to likely being forced to play away from home in the opening rounds. The women's selection show will begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Hey all, Troy is dealing with a personal matter right now but he was able to spend some time with a bunch of the players and coaches yesterday during the team's media luncheon ahead of spring practice. It was intended to be off the record but eventually turned into a media session, so we will be rolling out some of those interviews and press conferences here in the coming days.

Here is the first batch of interviews with OC Brennan Carroll providing some insight into the UA offense, left tackle Jordan Morgan discussing his return to UA after his injury and newcomer linebacker Justin Flowe talking about his decision to join the Wildcats and his expectations for the upcoming season.

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The final week of the regular season begins tonight in LA with the Wildcats taking on USC at Galen Center.

Here's a look at the starting lineups, which includes Oumar Ballo. Ballo has been a full participant in warmups tonight. Troy is tending to a personal matter, so I'll be handling the game updates tonight.

The Pac-12 announced their end of season awards and Arizona's point guard Shaina Pellington was named Co-Most Improved Player of the Year along with former Wildcat Aaronette Vonleh.

Plus, both Pellington and Cate Reese were named to the All-Pac-12 team while Esmery Martinez was named as an honorable mention.

On the defensive side of the court, both Pellington and Helena Pueyo were named to the All-Defensive team.

Took some time to go through the spring roster/incoming recruit list and break down how the scholarships will be distributed going into the 2023 season. The classes are based off the official roster, so keep that in mind. As of now, by my count, Arizona is under the scholarship limit for the upcoming season so that will leave some room for additions and/or walk-on players earning a scholarship — Jacob Kongaika comes to mind.

If there's anyone you think I've missed or something that looks incorrect please let me know.

The spring Roster has been released and two things jumped out to me, no Will Plummer and a UCLA transfer by the name of Martell Irby.

No info on him and he doesn’t have a number but I think we recruited him at some point

Oumar Ballo took home Pac-12 Player of the Week for his performance at the Maui Invitational where he was also named MVP of the tournament.

Ballo averaged 21 points per game on 79.4% shooting from the field to go along with 10.7 rebounds. He joins Zion Williamson as the only D1 player in the last 25 years to play three games in three days and average 20 points and 10 rebounds on while shooting at least 75% from the field.

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What is becoming clear early in the 2024 recruiting cycle is that Arizona is going to hit the linebacker position hard. Someone to keep an eye on is four-star outside backer Kamar Mothudi from Campbell Hall HS in Los Angeles. Adam Gorney spoke with him, and he says the Wildcats are among the early standouts with Washington, Oregon and Utah. He'll be someone to keep an eye on as the process moves ahead.

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The last time these two rivals met, Arizona dominated the first half taking a 17-point lead over ASU. Then, the Sun Devils came storming back in the second half making it a 2-point game thanks to a number of UA turnovers. Still, the Wildcats were able to hold on for a 69-60 win over their in-state rival.

During Tommy Lloyd's time in Tucson, he has gone 3-0 against Arizona State with an average margin of victory of 10.7 points.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 7 Arizona (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12; last game: 78-68 win vs. Colorado) vs. ASU (19-9, 10-7 Pac-12; last game: 67-59 win vs. Utah)
When: Noon (MST)
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Arizona
TV: CBS
All-time series: Arizona leads 74-42 (last matchup: Arizona won 69-60 on Dec. 31, 2022 in Tempe)

Come join the conversation as our staff keeps you updated throughout today's Arizona-ASU game.

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Chip Hale, Nik McClaughry and Kiko Romero met with reporters today to discuss the first week of action and look ahead to the home opener against West Virginia this week. Troy has videos of those full media sessions above.

Arizona pitcher TJ Nichols has won Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for his performance against No. 2 Tennessee during the Wildcats' opening game of the season where the team won a 3-1 pitchers duel.

Nichols delivered with going six innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out six hitters on 91 pitches of work. \

Last season, Nichols had his ups and downs finishing the season with an ERA of 5.50 with a record of 6-4 in 16 starts.

Spent the weekend catching up with some Arizona targets on the West Coast in the 2024 and 2025 classes to get a gauge for where thing stand with them. The Wildcats have already jumped out to a nice start in building the 2024 class, and there is some building momentum with the team on the recruiting side of things. UA hosted some visitors in January, and you can read some reaction to those trips in the link above. The 7-on-7 season is picking up now and once March hits those recruits will again be allowed to visit schools while coaches will also be allowed to leave campus and recruit during the spring. It'll be an important time for the staff to build some more momentum heading into the key months of the spring and summer.

Below is a list of the recruits mentioned in the article.

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Hey guys, I'll be working on an article from today's press conference with Jedd Fisch here shortly. However, I wanted to post five quick takeaways from the presser and get this on the boards now.

Quick takeaways:

1. Duane Akina will be joining Arizona as a senior defensive analyst, but can develop into on field coaching pending an NCAA rule change.

2. Gunner Cruz is no longer on the roster
- Cruz is now a GA with the team and this opens up another roster spot.

3. Spring football will start with players "arriving" on March 13 with the first practice on the 14. The Spring Game will be on April 15, with the time still to be determined.

4. Jedd Fisch talked about how happy he was with the class and how it gives the team more depth on the defensive side of the football.

5. Fisch noted that it was work to keep key players on the roster like Jacob Cowing, who had agents talking to him about the NFL. But, stated that Cowing came to the decision to come back and help better the team and his draft stock.
-However, Fisch feels like the team was able to get five players back that are NFL talents.

Again, I'll have more later but wanted to get this up here now.

Are there any former UofA players in the XFL?

After a rebound win against Utah, No. 8 Arizona is returns to action tonight against Colorado in what will be a big game as the team looks to get good seeding heading into March. Looking to extend the winning streak, the Wildcats are looking to build off the tremendous win that the team was able to get against the Utes. Led by Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, the two big men look to continue their impactful seasons leading the Wildcats offense in a game that will be broadcast on national TV. A win over Colorado could shift the momentum even more for the Wildcats as they begin to wind down its regular season.

We'll have updates for you throughout the game and invite you to join the conversation throughout tonight's clash in McKale.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 8 Arizona (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12; last game: 88-62 win vs. Utah) vs. Colorado (15-12, 7-9 Pac-12; last game: 67-59 win vs. Arizona State)
When: 6 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Arizona
TV: ESPN
All-time series: Arizona leads 31-20 (last matchup: Arizona lost 81-66 on Dec. 1, 2022 in Salt Lake City)

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BIG win to open the 2023 season tonight as Arizona takes down No. 2 Tennessee up in Scottsdale. Mac Bingham had a couple RBIs while Tony Bullard had a solo home run in the 3-1 victory.

After an upset loss to Stanford, No. 8 Arizona is back home tonight against Utah in what will be an important game after losing to the Utes last time these two teams met this season. Looking to get back on a winning note, the Wildcats are looking to regain its groove before heading into the Pac-12 tournament. Led by Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, the two big men look to get back on track following disappointing games against Stanford. A win over Utah could shift the momentum back in the Wildcats' favor as the team gets closer to March.

We'll have updates for you throughout the game and invite you to join the conversation throughout tonight's clash in McKale.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 8 Arizona (22-4, 11-4 Pac-12; last game: 88-79 loss at Stanford) vs. Utah (17-9, 10-5 Pac-12; last game: 73-62 win vs. Colorado)
When: 8 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center| Tucson, Arizona
TV: Pac-12 Network
All-time series: Arizona leads 31-20 (last matchup: Arizona lost 81-66 on Dec. 1, 2022 in Salt Lake City)

Hey guys, i wanted to post my season preview for baseball on the boards. Plus, if you have any questions, let me know.

Preview: https://arizona.rivals.com/news/arizona-baseball-season-preview

More here:

It has been a frustrating day for us, and I'm sure you all as well with the site down for a big portion of the day. Just wanted to clarify some things so that you can have a better idea of what went on and why you weren't able to access the front page or message boards.

Earlier today, one of Rivals' service providers experienced a global outage that caused the site to be inaccessible for several hours. This is a platform outside of our network or our control and many sites were impacted by this outage, not just Rivals/GOAZCATS.com. We want to apologize to those of you who were not able to access the site earlier today. All operations are now restored and Rivals will be working with this provider to ensure that the issue that caused today's outage has been fixed and will not reoccur.