FanHouse Russ Pennell

Everyone knew Russ Pennell had no chance to stay in Tucson as the head coach once Louisville finished off the Wildcats. It was an incredible run to the Sweet 16, seeing as though nobody even wanted the name "Arizona" in the tournament to begin with.

As the buzzer sounded on that 39-point rout, the coaching search became official. The Wildcats needed a high-profile coach to fill the shoes, and the legacy, of Lute Olson. That was easy in theory, but couldn't have gone worse thus far in the recruiting game.

It was pretty simple, actually. All Arizona had to do in the last seven days was get in a tournament they had no business being in, catch a lucky draw against a squad that couldn't handle the speed or pressure the Wildcats could bring and hope for the only 13-seed upset of the tournament to be their opponent in the second round. Pshhhh. That was simple.

In the second-round meeting against 13th-seeded Cleveland State, the Wildcats did what they've done best all year: rely on the big three and hope the reserve players don't hack the opposition with two seconds left when the game is tied. Oh, and in related news, Jamelle Horne had 15 points.

In her last twirl across the floor, Cinderella wears a Viking helmet.

And, judging by the massive mascot painted at the center of Cleveland State's home court, it's a piece of hatwear that would dwarf even Barry Bonds' sombrero.

Take that as a hint. There's nothing petite about this team.

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Update: Is it over? The Wildcats fell to Arizona State 68-56 in the opening round of the Pac-10 tournament.

It was 1983 when Lute Olson first came to Tucson as the head coach of an abysmal basketball program. He had just taken Iowa to the Sweet 16 the year before and was brought to the University of Arizona to turn the Wildcats around. His first season was a rebuilding year. They only won 11 games, missed the NCAA tournament and finished eighth in the Pac-10.

Since that season, Arizona hasn't missed the NCAA tournament, making it 24 straight times.

Now the streak is in jeopardy.

One thing has always haunted the Wildcats -- their inability to finish games.

On Thursday night against Southern California and Saturday against UCLA, the Wildcats again let both teams back in the game before doing something that is very un-Tucson like ... they stepped on some throats.

The win over the Bruins was about streaks, and Arizona continued one while putting the other to rest. UCLA had taken down the Wildcats in eight straight games before Russ Pennell's crew kept it together, winning 84-72 to take their current winning streak to seven.

They were two of the most boneheaded plays you may ever see in college basketball, like Chris Webber somehow calling two timeouts instead of one.

The University of Arizona, battling the University of Alabama-Birmingham, was trailing most of the night in a contest to see who would advance to Madison Square Garden to face Oklahoma in the NIT semifinals, but then late in the game they started to come back. That comeback ended with two "seriously, guys?" fouls that could best be described as poorly coached and poorly executed.

After the Wildcats put together a comeback that had the team down three, Arizona's Garland Judkins got fouled, and after making the first and missing the second, freshman Kyle Fogg made a great play on the rebound, snatching it up, avoiding the defender and laying the ball in with just over 26 seconds left in the game. All tied at 71-71. Great. But what Fogg did next was inexplicable. The freshman, obviously confused on where he was or what the score was -- or even what game he was playing -- fouled Aaron Johnson right as the ball was inbounded, putting UAB on the line in a one-and-one opportunity.

As the foul happened, interim head coach Russ Pennell could only put his hands on his head in disbelief. You could almost read his mind, as you could most Wildcat fans, who probably have never played college basketball in their lives but know that when the game is tied you don't foul to put a guy on the line.