Nov 16, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) dunks the ball against the Bradley Braves during the first half at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Football: Defensive Coordinator likely to be named by Monday

Arizona Football: Defensive Coordinator likely to be named by Monday by Eric Townsend

The last two seasons for Arizona Wildcats Basketball has been historically one of the best runs in program history.

Two Elite Eights, two Pac-12 Championships, 67 wins and ending a 13-year Pac-12 Tournament Championship drought made Wildcats fans feel like the glory years were back in Tucson.

When Lute Olson came to Tucson in 1983, it didn’t take long before the balance of power in the conference shifted from Westwood to Tucson.

Olson’s teams won eleven conference titles in his quarter-century reign in the desert. Rivalries with Stanford and UCLA made winning the Pac-10 a challenge most years, but sometimes it was a walk in the park.

That’s what the past few years have felt like for Arizona fans. It wasn’t a matter of if the Cats would win the conference, but when would they clinch and by how many games?

2016 is much different.

“If you ever needed a litmus test of how strong the Pac-12 is this season, I think we got it,” coach Sean Miller said, “Not only did we start our pac-12 regular season out with three road games, but it all happened in one weeks time — Love the resiliency of our team, the way we kept fighting ’til the end.”

With nine Pac-12 teams ranked in the RPI top 50, conference match-ups will be helping Pac-12 NCAA resumes, instead of handicapping them as in previous seasons.

With a current RPI of 32, Arizona hopes to take advantage this, but losing Alonzo Trier to a broken hand is a monumental setback for the Cats.

Trier is the Cats leading scorer and had quickly started playing like a veteran with a cool demeanor on the court.

With no dominant team in the conference, the Cats still have a chance to win their third straight conference championship, but it won’t be easy.

The good news is that the Cats have nine of their final 15 games at McKale Center. If they can push their home-court winning streak from 47 to 56, they should be in the race until the final weekend.

But if the Cats don’t three-peat, it won’t be the end of the world.

They just need to be ready for March.

With seasoned veterans Gabe York, Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski leading the team with a healthy Trier, the Cats could be a tough out during the madness.

Before Arizona fans politic about underwhelming defense and not having a true point guard, they might want to consider at Xavier and Arizona, Sean Miller’s teams usually peak for March NCAA Tournament runs.

Kadeem Allen and Parker Jackson-Cartwright may not be prototypical T.J. McConnell type point guards, but they have combined for an impressive 2.2 to one assist to turnover ratio.

The next few weeks are going to be fun and competitive.

The days of the Cats showing up and winning just because Arizona is written on the front of their jerseys is over, at least for this year.

We wish Allonzo a quick recovery!

BearDown!