Arizona not living up to expectations

A year ago, Arizona was in the final eight, Sean Miller was one of the hottest coaches in the country, and the Wildcats brought in one of the best recruiting classes around.

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Now, Arizona is fighting for its NCAA life.

With a 19-9 record, the Wildcats have mediocre computer numbers and sit squarely on the bubble. Wins over UCLA, USC and Arizona State appear to be a must. A good showing in the Pac-12 tournament would be a good thing, too.

What happened? First off, there’s no Derrick Williams; he has moved on to the NBA. Secondly, the loss of Lamont Jones, who transferred to Iona in the offseason, hurt more than anyone realized. Third, the recruiting class hasn’t taken off as expected. That leaves the Wildcats with a good, but not great, roster. Guys like Kyle Fogg and Solomon Hill were great role players, but they have struggled when thrust into the spotlight.

The Wildcats still have a good shot at playing themselves into a big to the Big Dance. But at this point, everyone expected that to merely be a formality.

A huge loss

Not coming away with a win over Creighton in Nebraska on Saturday leaves Long Beach State at 0-6 when it meets teams with a top-50 RPI. Despite the 49ers’ heavy scheduling, and their impressive unbeaten record in the Big West, LBSU would benefit greatly from just going ahead and winning its conference tournament.

Long Beach State picked the wrong year to go to Pittsburgh and beat the Panthers. Pitt, frequently one of the top-10 teams in the country, has flamed out this season, and won’t make the NCAAs without a miracle run.

That means the 49ers technically don’t have any "marquee" wins. Anyone who has watched Don Monson’s team this season will likely conclude that it belongs in the Big Dance. But the committee has made curious choices before, and that has to make the 49ers a bit queasy down the stretch.

A dangerous match

BYU was lucky to escape War Memorial Gym last week with a win over San Francisco. Gonzaga wasn’t so fortunate, and Saint Mary’s will have a fight on its hands as well.

With an 18-11 record, the Dons aren’t going to the Big Dance without an automatic invite. So every at-large bid contender in the country needs to root against them. San Francisco is a dangerous team, one with shooters and slashers, no fear and athletes. BYU, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga are teams that could fall victim to the upset bug in the WCC tournament. The Dons have proved to be a tough out.