Kevin Newman and the UA freshman need three wins and some help to make their first tournament.
Photo by David Kadlubowski/azcentral sports

The final week of the college baseball regular season is here.

Conference tournaments are going on around the country but the Pac-12 doesn’t believe in such redundancy. The 30-game conference season will be wrapped this weekend, then 16 NCAA regional hosts will be announced on Sunday and the full field of 64 will be made known the morning of Memorial Day.

Will the defending national champions be a part of it?

One final look at the polls:

BA = Baseball America
CB = Collegiate Baseball
NC = National Collegiate Baseball Writers
PG = Perfect Game
US = USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll

Expect the Pac-12 to end up with three regional hosts and a chance at two national seeds.

Up next are the games you don’t want to be your last:

USC (20-33 / 10-17) at ARIZONA (31-21 / 12-15)
Something for next year’s Wildcats to shoot for: The last time the UA won the baseball season series against Arizona State three straight years was way back in 1957-1959 under Frank Sancet.

Friday and Saturday’s games (both at 6 p.m. Arizona/Pacific time) will be streamed live for free on Pac-12.com. Sunday’s 12 p.m. game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

WSU (22-30 / 8-19) at #4.0 OSU (43-9 / 22-5)
Oregon State needs just one win to clinch at least a share of the Pac-12 crown. Then again, that’s all Oregon needed last year. Pac-12 Networks will broadcast all three games, Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

#10.0 UCLA (38-15 / 20-7) at Stanford (30-21 / 14-13)
The Bruins are still alive for the championship if OSU stumbles. The entire series (Friday and Saturday 7 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.) will be on Pac-12 Networks.

#9.2 Oregon (43-13 / 20-7) at Utah (20-29 / 6-21)
Last week didn’t go the Ducks’ way but they’re still playing for a national seed and home field advantage up until the College World Series.

#17.6 ASU (34-18 / 15-12) at Washington (22-31 / 13-14)
The Sun Devils are most likely done with home games and the road hasn’t been kind to ASU in tournament play. Pac-12 Networks will be showing Saturday’s 4 p.m. game and Sunday’s 12 p.m. finale.

Cal is the odd team out and the Bears don’t have anyone to play. Cal’s bye week will last until next February.

* * *

It’s simple for the BatCats: Sweep or weep. And the UA may end up weeping anyway.

Arizona’s RPI is up to 62 but it’s not going to get much better no matter what happens this week. Case in point, Stanford had an RPI of 80 last week. After sweeping No. 101 Cal, the Cardinal’s RPI is now…80. USC’s RPI is a not-helping 128.

Just like a month ago, the precedent is Oregon State defending its 2006 national championship. The difference is the 2007 Beavers had an insane 28-3 non-conference record while the 2013 Wildcats went 19-6. But sixth place in a nine team league (with a 10-14 conference record) is still sixth place and OSU got the benefit of the doubt that year. Then they erased doubt all the way to title number two.

So win three games and wave the Remember the Beavers! flag.

USC is 4-10 over the last four weeks so the Trojans are not coming to Tucson with momentum. This series is all about the home team. Can the Wildcats get back to throwing strikes? Can they put together good at-bats with men in scoring position?

It would be a shame to see the big series win at ASU go to waste.

Remember the Beavers!

- – - – -

Scott Terrell will try not to weep. Close out the regular season strong on Twitter and Facebook.

The most important game of the year is the one right under your nose.
Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon Ducks only have one game this week and it’s against their bottom-feeding rivals. Arizona and UCLA, on the other hand, are headed for a high-stakes showdown on Saturday.

That is, if they can both survive tonight.

This Week in the Pac-12 (TWit-Pac) is a big week in the Pac-12. It’s the last time any of the tri-leaders in the conference go head-to-head. Here is where to watch them on TV (all times Arizona/Mountain):

More Wednesday games than Thursday games? What in the name of Tom Hansen is going on here?? Saturday brings two additional rarities: a UA game on a channel every Wildcat fan has and an ASU game that ends before David Letterman comes on.

The basketball games:

Wed. Feb. 27

ARIZONA (23-4 / 11-4) at USC (12-15 / 7-7)
The Wildcats better not even think about looking past USC because of how the game went last time. The Trojans are 4-2 since losing in Tucson. If they were an Oscar-winning movie they’d be “Cantu Unchained.”

Colorado (18-8 / 8-6) at Stanford (16-12 / 7-8)
After winning three of four against the Oregon and Arizona schools Stanford had entered the NCAA tournament discussion. But the Cardinal has lost three of four since to sink into the brackish water of the NIT pool.

ASU (20-8 / 9-6) at UCLA (20-7 / 10-4)
Hey! I got one right! I said UCLA would beat USC by 12 and the Bruins won by 16. Based on my poor track record that’s more than close enough to count as correct.

Thu. Feb. 28

Utah (11-15 / 3-11) at Cal (18-9 / 10-5)
The saga continues for the Most Interesting Team in the World. (No, not the Utes.)

OSU (13-15 / 3-12) at Oregon (22-6 / 11-4)
Joe Burton could produce a quadruple-double while wearing all of Mr. T’s gold and Oregon State would still lose this game.

Sat. Mar. 2

ASU at USC
The Sun Devils are now squarely in the Bubble Out category after losing to Washington at home. ASU needs to beat USC and either UCLA or Arizona (all on the road) to get back in the Last Four In conversation.

Colorado at Cal
Two bubblicious teams that could really use a win against each other. Colorado has the better RPI (29) and strength of schedule (19) and Cal has the better wins (Arizona, UCLA and Oregon twice).

ARIZONA at UCLA
UCLA is the only team with a chance to beat Arizona twice in the regular season.

Sun. Mar. 3

WSU (11-17 / 2-13) at Washington (15-13 / 7-8)
The Huskies have won two of their last three and they still need to win out just to post a winning conference record. Not good times in Seattle.

Utah at Stanford
Utah has four chances to win once more and get to four Pac-12 victories for the first time in forever.

* * *

You would love to have the cushion to take a road split this week but the margin for error just isn’t there for the Wildcats. If UCLA beats ASU and Arizona I expect the Bruins to finish off their run against Wazzu and U-Dub next week to post that championship-worthy 14-4 record.

There is no more time to wait for improvement. USC, UCLA and ASU. Each game is for a Pac-12 title and you can’t win all three if you don’t win the first one.

Play defense, rebound, make free throws and grind out a road win. Then do it again three days later.

The Pac-12 championship won’t be clinched in Los Angeles this week but someone is going to be eliminated.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is ready for some do-or-die basketball. Prepare for battle on Twitter and Facebook.

Brandon Ashley has been coming on stronger for the Wildcats.
Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in three weeks the Arizona Wildcats basketball team suffered a loss to a good team on Thursday before recovering to handily beat an inferior opponent on Saturday.

The loss to UCLA was especially unsettling because it happened in Tucson and the Bruins had a big lead faster than you could look up the correct number of Z’s in Shabazz. Arizona’s poor performance left fans wondering if the team was progressing as it should with more than half the season in the rearview mirror.

Are the Cats getting better? And what needs to change for the UA to get wins against the big boys again?

Here are the numbers in Arizona’s last dozen games including defensive field goal percentage, defensive 3-point percentage, offensive field goal and 3-point percentage, assists and turnovers:

Seeing the numbers side by side lets trends emerge. For example, the Cats were out-shot for four straight games from San Diego State through Oregon. Therefore it’s not a surprise the team was severely tested in all four contests (three escape acts and a loss).

The problem is there are some blowouts that skew the figures. If you take out the five bad teams and sort the seven games against decent opponents by field goal percentage allowed, the stats look like this:

Arizona’s two worst efforts (Oregon and UCLA) produced the two losses and each of the three games below that (Colorado, Florida, SDSU) went down to the wire. The two best performances resulted in the two easiest wins.

Defending against the 3-pointer hasn’t been the most telling stat as Florida shot an insane 56% from behind the arc and still lost while UCLA only needed three triples to win at McKale.

The offensive numbers are less telling. The Cats shot better in the Oregon loss than in the Colorado and San Diego State wins. The UA’s best 3-point shooting night among the seven games was also the loss to Oregon. The assist numbers have stayed constant and the Wildcats won big both with a bunch of turnovers (Miami) and barely any (ASU).

So defensive field goal percentage it is. Has there been any improvement? Here are the seven games against solid opponents in chronological order:

That trend line is pretty flat. The Cats have allowed 46% shooting or higher in four of the seven games including three of the last four so, if anything, it’s inching the wrong way.

There’s your stat to watch the rest of the season. Can Arizona improve its field goal defense against good teams?

The next test will be at Washington. The Huskies don’t exactly qualify as a “good team” this year but Thursdays haven’t been kind to the Wildcats so far in Pac-12 play. It’ll be a while before the UA sees UCLA and ASU again so the defensive growth will have to come against the midsection of the conference.

If you do want to see clear improvement take a look at Brandon Ashley’s last few games. The freshman was inconsistent early in the season, scoring 20 points in one game (Long Beach State) and two points the next (NAU). He scored six total points in the Florida, Miami, Colorado, Oregon and ASU games combined.

But over the last four games Ashley has averaged 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. He has been more aggressive, shooting 10 free throws against the L.A. schools and he’s passed Kaleb Tarczewski for the team lead in rebounds. Ashley’s numbers were down in the ASU game but he was praised for turning in his best defensive performance of the year.

Add it up and you have a young guy who is getting more comfortable in his role on this team and his ability to compete at this level. For those wanting to see more from Arizona’s freshmen post players, keep your eyes on number 21 in red and blue.

With all the on-court drama the last two months it’s easy to forget this is a 17-2 team. The Wildcats have a top-10 ranking and a top-five RPI. A Pac-12 championship may not be in the schedule but all the national goals are still in play.

A little defensive improvement could help this team go a long way.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell loves the HTML tables. Excel on Twitter and Facebook.

Shabazz will be making his first trip to AZ.
Photo by Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

UCLA at Arizona is the game of the week in Pac-12 basketball and has long been anticipated as one of the games of the year. It was supposed to be a clash of two revitalized western titans with conference supremacy at stake.

Now it might only determine who gets to finish second to the Oregon Ducks.

I’m not saying Cats/Bruins isn’t a big game. It’s a huge game. But the landscape of this year’s race for the conference championship shifted when Oregon went into Westwood and beat UCLA last week.

This Week in the Pac-12 (TWit-Pac) presents the latest TV schedule (all times Arizona/Mountain):

No rivalry match-ups this week so we get the maximum 12 games. If only the nation cared about more than one of them.

Wed. Jan. 23

WSU (10-8 / 1-4) at Oregon (16-2 / 5-0)
The Ducks are the last unbeaten team in Pac-12 play and we’ll get into why they may stay that way for a while.

Washington (12-6 / 4-1) at OSU (10-8 / 0-5)
The Huskies were 4-0. Utah was 0-5. So of course the Utes beat UW by nine last week.

Thu. Jan. 24

Cal (10-7 / 2-3) at Utah (9-9 / 1-5)
The aforementioned Seattle stunner was Utah’s first road conference win as a member of the Pac-12. Only one more to match Colorado football.

UCLA (15-4 / 5-1) at ARIZONA (16-1 / 4-1)
Bill Walton will be calling the game on ESPN2. Can we get Luke Walton as a sideline reporter?

Stanford (11-7 / 2-3) at Colorado (12-6 / 2-4)
Colorado has lost four of six but the Buffs are still No. 19 in the RPI. Just how many bonus points are they getting for their almost-win at Arizona?

USC (8-11 / 3-3) at ASU (14-4 / 3-2)
The Trojans came this close to beating Oregon last week in what would have been a post-KO weekend sweep.

Sat. Jan. 26

UCLA at ASU
It’s not a good sign for ASU when you search for “Chris Colvin suspension update” and you get links from 2013 … and 2012 … and 2010.

WSU at OSU
The Beavers are the last Pac-12 team without a conference win. If they keep this up, a presidential pardon might not even be enough to save Craig Robinson.

USC at ARIZONA
Alas, there will be no more “Kevin O’Neill returns to Tucson” stories. The “Bob Cantu used to work for Mike Bibby’s dad” angle isn’t as fun.

Washington at Oregon
More from the Washington Doesn’t Make Sense file: the Huskies have a better record on the road (4-1) than at home (7-4).

Sun. Jan. 27

Cal at Colorado
It’s hard to tell Cal and Stanford apart this year. Cal is the team that lost the head-to-head game last week…

Stanford at Utah
…and Stanford is the team that won it. Now you know.

* * *

It’s quite possible that, come March, Arizona and UCLA will still end up as the two most dangerous teams in the Pac-12. But not only is Thursday’s game currently just a battle for second place, it might already be an elimination game in the conference race.

How can that be? I’m not trying to beat a dead Duck but… Have you seen Oregon’s schedule??

The Ducks are done with UCLA and the UA. Their toughest remaining game might be at Washington, who just lost to Utah. They don’t have any road trips on back-to-back weekends.

It’s two games each against the Washingtons, Bays and Mountains. Oregon isn’t losing at home against that slate. So even if you give them three road splits that’s a 15-3 Pac-12 record, which is the new elevated target for the Wildcats and Bruins.

The loser in Tucson Thursday night will already have two league losses with six weeks to play, and the two teams still have to play again at Pauley Pavilion. So, yeah, this feels like an elimination game.

White Out or get wiped out.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell has, for the record, never beaten a duck, dead or otherwise. Do not send hate mail on Twitter and Facebook.

Arizona stood up to USC. Can Wildcat fans now stand tall?
Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Hello, my name is Scott and I’m an Arizona Football fan.

I knew when Ka’Deem Carey’s first-quarter touchdown run was called back the Wildcats would settle for a field goal. I knew when John Bonano’s second-quarter field goal was called back the retry would be missed. I knew Arizona wouldn’t be able to run out the clock with the lead. And I was right.

I also knew USC would run away with it after taking a 15-point lead. I knew the UA would not build a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. I knew the Cats would find a way to finish off another agonizing defeat. But I was very wrong.

The rehabilitation of wounded Wildcat fans has begun under the watchful eye of Dr. Richard A. Rodriguez.

You can’t blame long-time followers of UA football for expecting the worst. You can understand the collective dread. It’s like Pavlov’s dogs but with missed extra points.

Fumbling while running out the clock. Losing to a 1-8 team at home. Losing on an interception that hit the ground. Losing by throwing two passes on the same play. And that was just under the previous coach.

You want gut-wrenching defeats with history on the line? How about blowing a 20-point lead against Cal in 1993? Or falling 10-9 to Oregon a year later. Do you prefer epic collapses? There’s always the Snafu of ’72.

It takes a lot of work to go 76 years without an outright conference championship. To put it simply: Arizona Football has historically found a way to lose and Wildcat gridiron fans expect it to happen.

Are things now changing? Good stuff is happening in spite of the doubt. Records are falling and another long-time bully just left Tucson with a black eye. Arizona won consecutive games against the two best returning quarterbacks in the Pac-12 because it turns out the best returning QB plays for Arizona.

Is it finally safe to get optimistic?

Two weeks ago there was legitimate fear that RichRod would start 0-6 in conference play. Now the Wildcats are one more good weekend away from becoming the favorite to win the Pac-12 South.

The UCLA game is a crossroads and it’s not the kind we’re used to. Usually the sign says If the Cats lose this game the season is toast. Now it’s If the Cats win this a big fat opportunity smacks them in the face.

Lose and the goal returns to going to a bowl game and posting a winning record, which would still be a fine debut season for RichRod. But…if they win in L.A.? You won’t be able to hide from the possibilities anymore.

And, oh, what possibilities.

Consider this: Arizona wins out. USC, Stanford and Oregon State lose to Oregon. Arizona is competitive in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Arizona, currently No. 22 in the BCS standings, moves into the top 14 (Baylor and Oklahoma both finished in the top 14 with only nine wins last year). Oregon plays for the national championship. Arizona is selected to play in…I still can’t type it…the Nose Hole.

What on that list looks impossible after what we witnessed the last two weeks? Are we past counting out Rich Rodriguez and this group of Wildcats? Can we peek around the corner without the fear of getting hit by a bus?

As RichRod said after the USC win, “We’ve got a long way to go. But the process has started.”

The doctor is in.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is an Arizona season-ticket holder and he needs help. Support groups are forming on Twitter and Facebook.

Ducks Ducks Ducks Ducks Ducks…
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

USC does not play Oregon this week.

As much as everyone associated with college football would love to fast-forward seven days, that game will have to wait, and that suits the Arizona Wildcats just fine.

TWit-Pac isn’t leaving anybody out this week. Here is the TV schedule (all times Arizona/Pacific):

No byes! This is the first of only three weekends when all 12 teams will be playing on the same day.

Next is a very balanced bowl bubble:

Oregon State and USC clinched postseason eligibility with win #6 last week. Stanford has the easiest remaining schedule of the five-win teams. Cal drops down to the Bubble Out line because the Bears need to win three of their final four and two of them are against the Oregon schools. Colorado is 60 minutes away from being officially Out.

Your stacked Pac-12 Saturday:

UCLA (5-2 / 2-2) at ASU (5-2 / 3-1)
Not only are there no battles between ranked teams in the Pac this week but there are only two games between teams with winning records, and both are in the Grand Canyon State. The Devils have to shake off the embarrassment of the Oregon game quick because road trips to OSU and USC are next.

Colorado (1-6 / 1-3) at Oregon (7-0 / 4-0)
Worst visits First. The Ducks beat ASU by 22 last week and dropped from third to fourth in the BCS standings. They could beat the Buffs by 100 and still lower their computer ranking.

USC (6-1 / 4-1) at ARIZONA (4-3 / 1-3)
USC is the third-highest ranked one-loss team behind LSU and Oklahoma, giving the SEC and Pac-12 a combined six of the top nine teams according to the BCS.

WSU (2-5 / 0-4) at Stanford (5-2 / 3-1)
Good news, Cougars! Next week is a game against the other team without a conference win!

Cal (3-5 / 2-3) at Utah (2-5 / 0-4)
Of course, the Utes are facing their first Pac-12 team with a losing record so they’re planning on not being a team without a conference win for long.

OSU (6-0 / 4-0) at Washington (3-4 / 1-3)
This game looked like it had some upset potential but there’s no way Washington expected to do worse against Arizona than it did against Stanford, Oregon or USC. Can the Huskies get back up or are they down for the count?

* * *

Quick, when was the last time you saw the Wildcats beat USC at Arizona Stadium?

No, it hasn’t been quite as long as the last home win against Oregon State but it’s been a while. If you count interims you have to go back six UA coaches to when Dick Tomey bested Paul Hackett in 1999.

The Trojans and Beavers were the two teams Mike Stoops wasn’t able to beat at home:

Arizona’s Most Recent Home Win Against Pac-10 Opponents

Speaking of historical beatings, this is the first season in which Arizona has scored at least 50 points three times since Art Luppino and the 1954 team.

The last UA team to break 50 four times? Pop McKale’s 1921 squad, Arizona’s first bowl team. Those Wildcats beat Bisbee Legion, 84-13, defeated Phoenix Indian School, 75-0, walloped Texas Mines (UTEP), 74-0, and squeaked by New Mexico Military Institute by a score of…(dramatic pause)…110-0.

So RichRod still has some work to do.

Back to the future, this is the ultimate free game for the Wildcats. You don’t want another 49-0 spanking, and you certainly don’t want to blow a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, but if the Cats play well and the Trojans play better on Saturday, so be it.

However…

You couldn’t draw up a better trap game if you tried. Let us count the ways:

• After the Trojans’ record-setting performance against Colorado people have been patting Matt Barkley on the back so much he’s probably bruised.

• Thrashing Colorado doesn’t prepare you to beat anyone else.

• As soon as the Colorado game ended people started asking the Trojans about next week’s clash with Oregon.

• USC hasn’t dominated any Pac-12 teams on the road, losing to Stanford and beating Washington and Utah by ten points each.

• The USC offense isn’t the juggernaut that was expected when Barkley came back. The Trojans are just 5th in the Pac-12 in total offense, 6th in passing offense and 7th in rushing offense (Arizona is 1st, 1st and 3rd in those categories). And that’s after USC got to run 7-on-7s against Colorado.

• USC is the biggest name coming to Arizona Stadium this year. ASU is the biggest rival but this is Arizona’s Pac-12 Championship Game. The Trojans (and the rest of the sporting world) have been counting down to the Oregon game since day one.

• Arizona has increased its offensive output in each Pac-12 game, scoring five touchdowns against Oregon State, six TDs versus Stanford and seven against Washington.

• Did I mention the USC/Oregon game is next week?

Maybe my Red-and-Blue glasses are on too tight but I think UA fans will fill the stadium. I think the ZonaZoo will be at capacity and loud before kickoff. I know the Wildcats will be ready to play and I expect Rich Rodriguez to have a couple tricks up his sleeve.

Will it be enough to win? USC’s going to score more points than Washington. Probably a lot more. I don’t know if the Cats have the weapons yet to take down a top-10 team but I believe Lane Kiffin will be sweating in his visor and it won’t be because of the Arizona sun.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is ready to tailgate for breakfast. Rise and shine on Twitter and Facebook.

Seth Mejias-Brean and the Wildcats got the win on Sunday to help their hosting hopes.
Photo by Andy Morales

The Arizona Wildcats won the weekend baseball series at Southern California but could not get the sweep. As a result the Cats sit just outside first place in the Pac-12 standings but still have a shot at the program’s best regular season in 20 years.

Just a little extra drama with heated rival Arizona State coming to Hi Corbett Field for three games starting on Friday.

UA pitching dominated the first and third games in L.A. but the best performance came in Saturday’s loss, for 88.9% of the game anyway.

Konner Wade, Tyler Crawford and Tyler Hale combined to no-hit USC for eight innings in the middle game. The problem was the eight innings weren’t consecutive and the Trojans got six runs on seven hits in the 6th inning alone to end Arizona’s five-game winning streak.

James Farris and Mathew Troupe got things done on Sunday to pull the Wildcats within one game of Oregon heading into the final weekend of the regular season. This is the closest Andy Lopez has been to a conference title in his 11-year tenure as UA head coach.

In 2005 Arizona went into the final series knowing it needed a sweep to earn a share of the Pac-10 championship. The Cats lost the first game and dropped the series to finish two games behind first-place Oregon State.

The 2007 Wildcat squad finished with a head-to-head showdown against first-place Arizona State but again needed a sweep to become co-champs. Arizona lost the first game and the series to wind up four games back in the standings.

This year the Cats don’t need a sweep…if they can get help from their friends. Oregon State hosts the Ducks and the Beavers have won five of their last six series including two-out-of-three victories over UCLA and Stanford. The only thing is Oregon has won eight of its last nine series.

It’s not likely that Arizona sweeps ASU with the Sun Devils having two of the five best starting pitchers in the league in Trevor Williams and Brady Rodgers. It’s less likely that Oregon gets swept in Corvallis. So the game plan is for the Wildcats to win two while the Ducks lose two. Simple enough, right?

All this “pennant race” talk is actually a bonus for the UA. Yes, Arizona was picked to finish second in the conference before the season started but Stanford was a consensus top-five team nationally and wasn’t expected to have any trouble in the Pac-12. (Oregon was picked to finished seventh. Oops.)

The primary goal heading into the season – the real monkey on the program’s back – was hosting a regional.

Postseason games at home. It hasn’t happened in Tucson for 20 long years, or two coaching changes ago. The latest RPI numbers show Arizona right on the cusp of the top 16 but that’s only good for fourth best among eligible Pac-12 teams. Considering that in the last ten years the Pac-12 has never been awarded more than three regionals, it’s a bad sign.

Working in Arizona’s favor is the recent return of the Pac-12 to baseball prominence. In 2010 it was a record eight teams making the tournament. There were another six bids last year and three Pac teams hosted for the first time in nine seasons.

It also helps that there are no dominant teams from other western conferences. Cal State Fullerton is the best candidate but the Titans just lost a home series to a bad UC Riverside team. That will swing more votes Arizona’s way when it comes to projecting the tournament field.

In other words, if the Pac-12 is going to get four regionals, this is the year.

So Wildcat Universe should root against Fullerton on the road against Long Beach State. Root against teams like Rice, Arkansas and Kentucky that are in the neighborhood of the RPI top 16. And buy tickets. The fact that Arizona at Hi Corbett leads the Pac-12 (and the entire area west of Texas and east of Hawai’i) in attendance does matter. The NCAA wants people in the seats.

But taking care of business on the field is most important. Beating ASU is the best thing Arizona can do to improve its chances of being awarded a regional.

Why is it such a big deal to host?

The last time Arizona hosted a regional, Andy Lopez won the national championship.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell likes home games. He is hosting on Twitter and Facebook.

Robert Refsnyder and the BatCats will try to avoid getting tagged with a loss in Los Angeles.
Photo by Cheryl Evans/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Wildcats went undefeated last week but got no help in trying to catch Oregon in the Pac-12 baseball standings. This week the Ducks play outside the conference which means the UA needs no assistance to get back where it wants to be.

The only thing required is perfection.

Oregon remains in first place but UCLA continues to have the best RPI among teams Arizona has played:

These rankings do not include Arizona’s convincing win over ASU on Wednesday so the Wildcats have a good start on another RPI-boosting week.

We had a great question on Twitter: How is Stanford considered a better hosting candidate than Arizona in some tournament projections when the Wildcats have the head-to-head sweep plus a higher perch in the Pac-12 standings? It’s just like UA and ASU basketball in 2008 when the Devils swept the season series and finished higher in the conference standings but Arizona had the better RPI, strength of schedule and “body of work” so the Cats got the tournament bid and ASU did not.

Both Arizona and Stanford are safely in the NCAA baseball tournament this year but when it comes to jockeying for hosting position some are giving the Cardinal the nod because of a superior non-conference schedule and record. If the Wildcats remain on the very edge of the hosting bubble you hope it comes down to selecting between the UA and Stanford because then the on-field results should come into play.

Speaking of Arizona and Stanford being close, here are this week’s polls:

BAS = Baseball America
COL = Collegiate Baseball
NAT = National Collegiate Baseball Writers
PER = Perfect Game
USA = USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll

Wait, Oregon is No. 1? And the Ducks jumped over five teams to get there? Odd poll from Collegiate Baseball. But it does give the Pac-12 its first No. 1 ranking of the season.

Arizona has pulled dead even with Stanford in average ranking which shows how close this regional race is.

Last week was all about the sweep and TWIT-Pac again has the good teams paired up with not-so-good teams. One single loss could you get passed up in the standings.

#14.2 ARIZONA (34-15 / 16-8) at USC (22-25 / 7-17)
USC has lost eight straight and has scored more than three runs just once in its last 15 conference games. If Kurt Heyer brings his A-game tonight he may not relinquish that Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week award.

#11.2 UCLA (36-13 / 15-9) at Cal (26-22 / 9-15)
Think the collapse in the last Purdue game would slow down the Bruins? Nope. Five straight wins since then, all on the road.

#14.2 Stanford (33-14 / 14-10) at Utah (14-25 / 7-20)
Utah had its one shining moment on Tuesday when it snapped the 32-game win streak of Goose Kallunki and Utah Valley.

Washington (27-21 / 11-13) at #20.0 ASU (32-18 / 14-10)
These are Arizona State’s final three home games before trips to Tucson and then Sanctionville.

#22.4 OSU (33-17 / 13-11) at WSU (25-24 / 10-14)
The Beavers took two of three at Utah last week but all three games were decided by one run and two went into extra innings. Time to pick up momentum again before playing spoiler against Oregon.

Seattle (22-24) at #6.2 Oregon (38-14 / 19-8)
There will not be any one-run games in this series.

* * *

Arizona, UCLA and Stanford are all on the road this week before finishing at home next week. Oregon has its bye week before concluding the regular season away from home.

It’s very simple for the Wildcats. If Arizona loses this series it will not win the Pac-12 (or host a regional, for that matter). If the Cats take two of three there will still be a shot at the league title heading into the final weekend. If the UA sweeps in L.A. it’s going to be a lot of fun at Hi Corbett over Memorial Day weekend.

In addition to UCLA and Stanford, here are some bonus teams to root against to help the UA end that two-decade-long regional drought:

Virginia (RPI 13) at Maryland
Texas A&M (14) at Oklahoma State
Cal State Fullerton (15) vs. UC Riverside
Rice (19) at Central Florida

Game times for the USC series are 6 p.m. today, 2 p.m. tomorrow and 1 p.m. Sunday with all three games on 1290 AM radio in Tucson.

Today’s game is for first place. If the Cats win, tomorrow’s game will be for first place. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

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Scott Terrell is Scott Terrell. Repeat on Twitter and Facebook.

UCLA will try to Wear down the Cats once again.
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Last week was a missed opportunity for the Arizona Wildcats basketball team.

This week is all about necessity.

The UA’s realistic shot at a Pac-12 championship went away with the loss at Washington. All focus now is on the NCAA tournament resume and Arizona can’t afford any more losses.

Which other games around the league are crucial to the Cats’ success?

The Mountain Time Zone teams are all at home this week and have Thursday all to themselves. Here is the TWIT-Pac TV schedule (all times Arizona/Mountain):

CSN BA = Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
FSAZ = Fox Sports Arizona
FSN = Fox Sports Net
PT = Prime Ticket
ROOT NW = Root Sports Northwest

Thu. Feb. 23

USC (6-21 / 1-13) at ARIZONA (19-9 / 10-5)
A victory gives the Wildcats 20 wins for the 23rd time in the past 25 years. The mission tonight is to score early. The Trojans haven’t hit 55 points once in their current five-game losing streak and their Pac-12 high is 62 points. A 10-point lead against USC is like a three-touchdown advantage against a wishbone offense. A bad wishbone offense.

UCLA (15-12 / 8-6) at ASU (8-19 / 4-11)
Last week the Bruins added a loss to the Big East’s 11th-place team to go with its losses to the Big 12’s 6th-place team and the West Coast Conference’s 4th-place team. But hey, at least they have a loss against the Sun Belt’s 1st-place team.

Cal (22-6 / 12-3) at Utah (5-21 / 2-12)
With the UA dropping two games back of the conference leaders the fan strategy shifts from rooting against the teams ahead of you to rooting for the teams you beat and against your peers. Cal is Arizona’s best win so Wildcat fans want the Bears to win out.

Stanford (18-9 / 8-7) at Colorado (18-8 / 10-4)
Colorado is 13-1 at home so it would help the Cats’ chances if the Buffs dropped one to a Stanford team outside the RPI top 100.

Sat. Feb. 25

UCLA at ARIZONA
This is the fourth consecutive Saturday noon start for the Wildcats. Do you prefer brunch or linner?

Washington (19-8 / 12-3) at WSU (14-13 / 6-9)
The Huskies are trying to win a conference championship but Washington counts as an Arizona peer in bubbleland. UW’s pedestrian 7-5 non-conference record has the Huskies just one spot ahead of Oregon in the RPI and 13 slots ahead of the UA. Root big for the Cougars, Wildcat Universe.

USC at ASU
Arizona hopes to build a double-digit lead in the first half against USC. Arizona State hopes just to hit double digits.

Stanford at Utah
The final home game of the year for the Utes. Increasing their Pac-12 win total by 50% would be a good going-away present for the seniors.

Sun. Feb. 26

Cal at Colorado
The Game of the Week is the only matchup among the top five Pac teams. Win and CU still has a shot at the regular season title. Lose and the Buffaloes could be in danger of missing out on a coveted first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.

Oregon (19-8 / 10-5) at OSU (15-12 / 5-10)
Oregon’s only chance to lose this week has Arizona fans hoping UO does just that. This is the Ducks’ last road game and they have the seeding tiebreaker with Arizona due to the head-to-head win.

* * *

Hopefully the Wildcats learned from the sluggish Utah game and come out Thursday night ready to quickly dispose of Kevin O’Neill‘s Trojans.

The UCLA game is quite a bit more nerve-wracking. The Bruins’ shoddy squad was able to beat Arizona seven weeks ago and Travis and David Wear haven’t gotten any shorter. Josh Smith didn’t play in that first meeting and he’s come back to average 11.6 points per game since.

The Cats made just 3 of 17 (18%) 3-point attempts against UCLA the first time around. Brendon Lavender had two of them in January and the senior sharpshooter has made 11 of 18 (61%) from deep in his last three games. Finding him is a good idea.

When the height discrepancy doesn’t change, shoot it from long range.

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Scott Terrell feels the madness of March kicking in early. Finish out the month on Twitter and Facebook.

The Wildcats are trying to take a big step in L.A.
Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

The Cal Bears, Stanford Cardinal and Washington Huskies posted 2-0 records last week as Pac-12 play got underway. All three will look to remain perfect as their paths do not yet cross.

The Arizona Wildcats posted a victory in their single conference game a week ago so they too will attempt to keep their Pac-12 record clean.

To do so the Cats will have to reverse their recent fortunes of the past few years in the City of Angels (or, in the case of tonight’s game, the University of California, Los Angeles of Anaheim).

TWIT-Pac has more games but fewer viewing opportunities this week.

Here is the TV schedule (all times Arizona/Mountain):

CSN BA = Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
CSN NW = Comcast SportsNet Northwest
FSAZ = Fox Sports Arizona
FSN = Fox Sports Net
PT = Prime Ticket
ROOT RM = Root Sports Rocky Mountain
ROOT NW = Root Sports Northwest

Thu. Jan. 5

Stanford (12-2 / 2-0) at Oregon (10-4 / 1-1)
Stanford passed its first test by sweeping the L.A. schools at home last week. Taking two from the Oregons would officially give them For Real status.

Washington (8-5 / 2-0) at Colorado (9-4 / 1-0)
Husky guard Tony “Not Rotten” Wroten introduced himself to the Pac-12 by winning the Player of the Week award, the first freshman to do so this season.

WSU (9-5 / 1-1) at Utah (3-10 / 1-1)
Unfortunately for the Cougars (and Huskies), this is their only game against Utah this year. UCLA and USC are the other pair that doesn’t get to double up on the woeful Utes.

ASU (4-9 / 0-1) at USC (5-10 / 0-2)
Somebody’s first league win is coming! First team to 35, wins!

Cal (12-3 / 2-0) at OSU (10-4 / 0-2)
Since it’s never too early…

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
OSU. Root for the Pac-12 favorite to feel the wrath of the Oregon Trail this weekend.

ARIZONA (10-4 / 1-0) at UCLA (7-7 / 0-2)
This game is at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the site of last year’s win over Duke (and loss to UConn). You’ll know it’s over if De’End Parker enters the game.

Sat. Jan. 7

Washington at Utah
UW averaged 85.5 points per game at home last week but only scored an average of 68.5 in their two true road games this year.

WSU at Colorado
Wazzu’s Reggie Moore is the Pac-12’s leading assist man, averaging 5.6 a game. Sharing is caring.

Stanford at OSU
The Beavers went 10-2 out-of-conference but started 0-2 in league play, and now they face what looks like the best two teams in the Pac-12. Oregon State’s season could go from “Great story!” to “Here we go again” in a hurry.

ASU at UCLA
The Sun Devils are in the middle of a stretch where they play five of their first seven conference games on the road. UCLA is doing the same thing but this is the Bruins’ two at “home.”

Sun. Jan. 8

ARIZONA at USC
USC has won its last three home games against the Wildcats. I wonder if Kevin O’Neill’s wife will be there.

Cal at Oregon
53 points against USC, 85 points vs. UCLA. Cal showed it can win at multiple speeds last week.

* * *

Neither the Bruins nor Trojans are going to win the conference but they’re still plenty dangerous. We all know what happened to the Cats in L.A. last year, and it’s the same thing that happened three years ago. All told the UA has lost five of its last six games on the SoCal swing.

Arizona won’t have to deal with Reeves Nelson but UCLA still features three 6-10 players in Josh Smith and the Wear twins. Will Sean Miller counter with more minutes for Kyryl Natyazhko and Angelo Chol or will he try to spread the floor and outshoot the Bruins with Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry?

USC went from relying on 7-footer Nikola Vucevic to being led by 5-7 Maurice Jones. But, as always, the name of the game for a KO-coached team is defense so the Cats will have to be patient and make sure their outside shots are good ones.

It’s too early to say any weekend is critical but Arizona’s two toughest road trips (the Bays and the Washingtons) are both on the back half of the schedule. Now’s the time to pick up wins and see if you can gain ground on Cal and Stanford. It also helps that UCLA and USC are as collectively down as they’re going to be.

The Wildcats are trying to get back to Hollywood endings in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

* * *

A dollop of football…

If you were following on Twitter this is old news but Nick Foles’ reign as the most accurate passer in Pac-12 history was short-lived. After Foles finished the season ahead of Matt Leinart’s record for career completion percentage Andrew Luck completed a ridiculous 87% of his passes in the Fiesta Bowl to move ahead of Foles, 67.0% to 66.8%.

At least Foles can say he broke the record of a Heisman Trophy winner, and he held it for 36 days.

Speaking of Stanford, Cardinal fans have to be at least a little disappointed by the Jim Harbaugh/Andrew Luck era. Crazy? Here’s what they had:

• The greatest football coach in the world (the previous two Stanford coaches went 16-40 (.286) and the 49ers hadn’t had a winning season in nine years before Harbaugh went 13-3 this year)
• The greatest quarterback prospect in 13 years (The Next Peyton Manning will be replacing The First Peyton Manning in Indianapolis)
• Only the school’s second and third 10-win seasons in the past 71 years

…and they end up with no conference championships and a single bowl win. That’s gotta sting, right?

Of course, they got a Rose Bowl out of Ty Willingham and an eight-win team so Stanford has a long way to go in the Woe Is We department.

Enjoy the basketball action and, remember, baseball is just around the corner, plus it’s only 240 days until football season!

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Scott Terrell is looking forward to hoops and Hi Corbett this weekend. Join in on Twitter and Facebook.