Over the first 11 games of Arizona’s season, it was still hard to tell exactly how good the Wildcats really were.
Before losing 84-80 to Gonzaga on Saturday at McKale Center, Arizona won six games at home against midlevel teams or worse. Then three more in the mediocre Wooden Legacy. Over the previous week, they lost a “true” road game at Baylor, in which Arizona fans dominated the crowd, then stomped on low-major Omaha.
But on Saturday, there was this: Sixth-ranked Gonzaga, in front of a capacity crowd at McKale Center… and the Wildcats were right there, but still have a little work to do.