Anybody with an Arizona Wildcat basketball schedule can come up with a plan, and Russ Pennell has heard plenty of them.
You know, something like this: To get to the NCAA tournament from their current 14-8 record, the Wildcats should … sweep this week at Oregon State and Oregon … beat everyone, except maybe UCLA, at home … see if they can pull out a surprise at ASU, or at Washington.
But the UA interim head coach, and his players, don't want to hear it.
"I've got friends who say, 'Hey, we figured it all out: Win the rest of the home games, and do this and this and this,'" Pennell said. "That's not the way I want to think. If it was that simple none of us would worry about it."
Instead, point guard Nic Wise says the Wildcats look at every game like they should — and can — win.
"We don't look at it like we have to win this one if we lose this one," Wise said. "I don't know who thinks like that."
Well, we do.
It's a safe bet the Wildcats need to win at least five of their final nine regular-season games — barring a very successful Pac-10 tournament run — to make a 25th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
As of Monday, the Wildcats had a bubble-bursting No. 63 RPI that isn't likely to go up much this weekend even with a sweep in Oregon. They are not even listed in the eight schools just outside of ESPN's Bracketology projections Monday (though they were at least among eight others considered).
So maybe sweeping this week in Oregon is a good idea. Then returning home to beat at least one of the Los Angeles schools and …
"We just want to win," Wise said. "We don't want to be left out of the NCAA. That's what we came here for, to get a chance to go to the tournament and play in big games like that. If we don't make it, we'll be devastated. So we're doing everything we can right now to make it there."
Especially this season, with their third coaching staff in three years, making it could be special.
With "all the stuff we've been through, we need something to keep us happy," forward Jordan Hill said. "The freshmen, sophomores and juniors would just have something to look at and wonder, 'Man — all the things we been through and we still made it? This is a good team right here.'"
Pac-10 honors Budinger
Junior forward Chase Budinger was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday for the second time in his career after leading the Wildcats to a sweep of the Washington schools last week.
Budinger averaged 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and no turnovers in the two games, while getting his second double-double of the year (19 points, 11 rebounds) against Washington State. Budinger shot .387 from the field, .333 from three-point range and .833 from the free-throw line, though he missed 11 of his first 12 shots against Washington State.
Budinger is the third Arizona player to receive the weekly league honor this season, joining Hill on Dec. 15 and Jamelle Horne on Dec. 29.
Wise on roll
Had the Pac-10 award been considered for the Wildcats' previous three games, Wise might have had a shot at it.
Wise has scored 58 points, with 14 assists and 11 turnovers, in the three games beginning with the the Wildcats' Jan. 24 win over Houston. He shot just 2 of 8 from the field against Washington State but had four assists and three steals, with only one turnover.
"He's been more aggressive offensively, looking for his shot more, which we want him to do," Pennell said. "Nic's got a real good feel for when to shoot and when not to. He rarely takes a bad shot. He may overpenetrate sometimes but he rarely takes a bad shot."
Pennell said Wise has moved past a brief midseason slump despite playing on a "bad wheel" — the knee injury that forced him to miss seven games last season.
"His knee gets sore, and he never says anything," Pennell said. "He just plays through it. So you just never know. He's a gutty little player, and you'd probably have to pry his brain open to have him tell you exactly how he feels."
