Citizen Staff Writer
ARIZONA WILDCATS BASKETBALL
STEVE RIVERA
srivera@tucsoncitizen.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Acerbic sportsline.com columnist Gregg Doyle was at it again, ripping into the Arizona program right after its 103-64 loss to Louisville on Friday night.
He wasn’t kind. But he rarely has been when it comes to Lute Olson or the Wildcats in the past.
He wrote: “This is what happens when a coach overstays his welcome. This is it. Look carefully, Arizona fans. Don’t you dare turn away from what you wrought. That’s right. You. You did this. You insisted Lute Olson should stay as long as he wanted.
“Through his health issues. Through his deteriorating coaching competency. Too long he stayed, with Arizona fans not just allowing it to happen – Arizona fans ran interference. And this is the result.
“A 39-point loss. In the Sweet 16. Humiliating. But this is what you wanted. You wanted Lute Olson’s fingerprints on this program for as long as he wanted them there, and this final smudge, this 103-64 loss Friday night to top-seeded Louisville, is the lesson that should linger.
“On the bright side, it can’t get any worse. On the down side, I just lied to you. It can get worse, and it will.”
Tremendous performance
Louisville looked and played unbelievably well. Its 103 points were the team’s most all season. Its 39-point victory was its most ever in an NCAA Tournament game.
“We’ve had some really good Sweet 16 games, but this was a dominating offensive performance,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Arizona was playing terrific basketball. We were really concerned about that. We wanted to take away their big three (Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill) and we did that.
“The guys made sure Hill didn’t get off because he’s a tremendous player. So is Wise. He was shooting 44 percent from three, averaging (25) points (in the tournament). We wanted to make sure we were good at every phase of the game.”