It was so close. A last-second 3-pointer by Aari McDonald did everything but fall at Stanford. A couple of questionable calls, an inability to make free throws down the stretch and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year turned the Wildcats back in overtime at Cal. An experienced Oregon State team held on in double overtime in McKale Center.
If any one of those games—especially the Cal game—turned out differently, it’s likely the Arizona Wildcats would have avoided the dreaded 8-9 game in the Pac-12 Tournament. After all, a win at Haas Pavilion would have given the Wildcats and Golden Bears identical 8-10 records and Arizona the season sweep.