Arizona
Arizona, Virginia add to reputations for March sadness
Arizona and Virginia rightfully lay declare to proud school basketball traditions, whether or not you’re speaking concerning the Wildcats profitable the nationwide championship in 1997, the Cavaliers doing it 22 years later or the numerous stars the packages have despatched to the NBA and abroad.
In addition they have growing reputations for NCAA Event disappointments.
The gorgeous loss by second-seeded Arizona to No. 15 seed Princeton on Thursday, and fourth-seeded Virginia’s collapse within the closing seconds in opposition to Furman, had been merely the most recent examples of their humiliating March heartbreaks.
The Wildcats have been bounced by groups seeded worse than them in 5 consecutive NCAA tourney journeys, whereas the Cavaliers had been bumped by a No. 13 seed for the second straight 12 months and 5 years to the day since changing into the one No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed.
“It doesn’t take away from what these guys have completed and what we’ve skilled over time, however you wished it if you felt such as you had it, and that was a troublesome one,” Cavs coach Tony Bennett acknowledged after the 68-67 loss to the Paladins, who basically gained by cashing in a turnover with a deep 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left on the clock.
Bennett is aware of in addition to anybody that agonizing notoriety is simple to earn and brutally tough to beat.
Doesn’t matter that the names and faces change from 12 months to 12 months.
The Cavaliers had been Last 4 favorites after they arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for his or her first-round recreation in opposition to UMBC in 2018. Forty painful minutes later, they had been saddled with a lopsided 74-54 loss and the ignominity of changing into the primary males’s group — after 135 wins by a No. 1 seed — to lose to one of many 4 lowest-seeded groups within the event.
Most hoops followers keep in mind the upset vividly, maybe greater than the nationwide title the Cavs gained a 12 months later.
“I’d simply say everyone at this degree is nice,” Virginia guard Isaac McKneely supplied by means of clarification. “I do know there’s the seeding and all that, however everyone can beat everyone, as clearly you’ve seen.”
If distress loves firm, the Wildcats can relate.
Since shedding within the regional last to Wisconsin in 2015, Arizona has been knocked out of the opening spherical thrice regardless of being seeded sixth or higher every time — the primary two with Sean Miller on the sideline and the latest, a 59-55 defeat on Thursday during which No. 15 seed Princeton scored the ultimate 9 factors, with Tommy Lloyd working the present.
The run of disappointments started with a loss to No. 11 seed Wichita State in 2016. It continued in opposition to No. 11 seed Xavier in a regional semifinal the following 12 months. The fourth-seeded Wildcats misplaced to No. 13 seed Buffalo in 2018 and, as a stylish title choose as a No. 1 seed final 12 months, fell to fifth-seeded Houston in one other regional semifinal.
Simply how straightforward can the stink of an upset loss choose even the bluest of bluebloods? Simply ask Kansas.
Two years after enjoying for the 2003 nationwide championship, the Jayhawks had been dumped by No. 14 seed Bucknell and No. 13 seed Bradley in consecutive years. Their still-new coach, Invoice Self, got here to rue the “Killer B’s,” and never even a run to the Elite Eight might shake the questions on whether or not he might get it completed in Lawrence.
He might, after all. The Jayhawks gained the 2008 title and are the defending nationwide champions.
Successful a nationwide title is about the one factor lacking from the resume of Gonzaga coach Mark Few, but it surely may take one for the Bulldogs to shake an uneasy March popularity for underachievement. They’ve been a No. 1 seed on 5 occassions, and twice reached the title recreation, however have develop into often called a lot for his or her losses as their wins.
“We’ve been in sufficient of these 1-16 video games and also you’re like, ‘Holy smokes,’” stated Few, whose group performs Grand Canyon on Friday night time. “Final 12 months, I walked out for the tip and Georgia State, I feel they had been larger than us at dang-near each place. And I’m like, ‘It is a 16-seed?’ I feel that’s type of the place we’re proper now.”
Loads of colleges have constructive reputations come March.
Princeton has been often called an enormous killer ever since its backdoor-cutting, first-round upset of UCLA below Pete Carril in 1996, when present coach Mitch Henderson was enjoying for the Tigers. And whereas they beat UNLV as a No. 5 seed two years later, the Tigers had failed to achieve the second spherical for an additional 25 years — till Thursday’s win over Arizona.
“There’s going to be some comparisons from a few of you, I’m positive, to Coach Carril. I need to be actually clear that this group did this,” Henderson stated. “That was a very very long time in the past. This group did one thing particular for its college, for the followers, for the previous gamers and for each other. Very related means that you simply see within the event, they simply got here collectively and did it.”
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AP March Insanity protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Big Lots store closures: What you should know
Big Lots plans to close more than 340 stores, highlighting economic challenges facing large retailers.
After months of store closures and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Big Lots is preparing to close all of its locations, according to a news release issued by the company on Thursday.
More than 400 stores have already been closed by the retailer in 2024 with the remaining ones set to hold “going out of business” sales. The company said it would continue to serve customers in-store and online and did not specify how long the sales would last.
“The Company is preparing to commence going out of business sales at all remaining Big Lots store locations in the coming days to protect the value of its estate,” Big Lots said in the news release.
CEO Bruce Thorn said the closures could be reversed if a company sale is completed.
The announcement comes as the company has already announced the closures of 24 locations in Arizona since July. Here’s the remaining Big Lots that are now closing.
Which Big Lots in Arizona are closing?
- Bullhead City: 2350 Miracle Mile
- Casa Grande: 1346 E. Florence Blvd.
- Glendale: 6660 W. Cactus Road
- Kingman: 3320 N. Stockton Hills Road
- Lake Havasu City: 1799 Kiowa Ave.
- Mesa: 1110 W. Southern Ave.
- Show Low: 4421 S. White Mountain Road
- Sierra Vista: 135 S. Highway 92
- Surprise: 14537 W. Grand Ave.
- Yuma: 1625 S. Fourth Ave.
Reach the reporter at reia.li@gannett.com. Follow @Reialirui on X, formerly Twitter.
The NCAA transfer portal giveth and it taketh, but sometimes it just gives back what it took. For Arizona, that happened not once but twice on Thursday.
Safety Dalton Johnson is returning to the Wildcats for his redshirt senior season, withdrawing from the portal after going in last week. He joins fellow safety Genesis Smith, who did the same earlier Thursday.
Johnson, the only member of Arizona’s 2021 recruiting class–which signed in between Kevin Sumlin being fired and Jedd Fisch getting hired–led the Wildcats with 94 tackles this season. He started 11 games, missing one because of injury, and has 24 starts with 36 career appearances.
Arizona has had more than 30 players from the 2024 team enter the portal including the majority of the defensive starters, but getting back Johnson and Smith helps solidify a back line that has added three players from the portal and will have Duane Akina back as position coach following a season as defensive coordinator.
The return of Johnson and Smith continues the recent good news for Arizona, which on Wednesday night saw quarterback Noah Fifita announce he was coming back for 2025. Fifita has started the last 21 games.
Looking for a tough nonconference schedule? Have some Pac-12 nostalgia? Arizona softball has it covered.
The Wildcats released their full schedule on Thursday morning, adding the nonconference slate to the previously released Big 12 schedule. It has something to please everyone.
Arizona will keep rivalries with former Pac-12 opponents Washington, Stanford, and UCLA. They will bring Alabama and Texas to Tucson and play home and away against Cal State Fullerton. In total, the Wildcats will play 12 teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and appear in 32 games at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Things kick off with the Candrea Classic at Hillenbrand Stadium from Feb. 6-9, 2025. First on the slate is a doubleheader against Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 6. The Spartans finished 21-30 overall last year and went 7-16 in the Big Ten but had a five-game winning streak to end the season.
That game heads straight into the land of the Pac-12 with the first of two games against the Washington Huskies on Friday, Feb. 7. It’s the first game of a Friday night doubleheader with the second game against Western Michigan. The Wildcats will play UW a second time on Sunday, Feb. 9.
The Huskies went 32-10 overall last season. They were 13-10 in their final Pac-12 season. They beat Arizona 2-1 in their series in Tucson. Their season ended in the Columbia Regional with a loss to Missouri. They went 1-2 in the postseason.
Saturday, Feb. 8 will feature Alabama. The Crimson Tide were 39-20 last year. They went 10-14 in the SEC. They advanced to the Women’s College World Series, going 1-2 and bowing out to Florida. They defeated Arizona twice during the regular season in Tuscaloosa.
Arizona hosts the Bear Down Fiesta the weekend of Feb. 13-16. The Wildcats will play South Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 13 and again on Friday, Feb. 14. They face Fullerton on Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 16. Ohio is on the slate on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Arizona played South Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after 11 innings due to the “drop dead time.” The Jaguars ended their year 34-20-1 overall and 16-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. They went 2-2 at the Gainesville Regional, losing twice to host team Florida.
Fullerton was 39-19 overall in 2024. The Titans ended Big West play 22-5. They went 3-2 at the Stanford Regional, beating the host Cardinal and ranked Mississippi State once each.
The Ohio Bobcats were 31-24 last season. They finished 18-8 in the MAC. Their season ended with a loss to Ball State in the MAC Tournament.
The Wildcats stay home for the third week in a row to host the Hillenbrand Invitational from Feb. 20-23. The featured teams this weekend are Stanford and Texas, with the Cardinal playing UA twice.
Things start on Thursday, Feb. 20 with the Cardinal. The two teams will face off again on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Stanford will be a different team this season without NiJaree Canaday, whom Arizona will face in Big 12 play against Texas Tech. However, the Cardinal have advanced to the WCWS the last two seasons. They went 57-17 in 2024, finishing 17-7 in their last Pac-12 season.
The Cardinal went 2-1 against Arizona in Tucson last season. They went 2-2 in Oklahoma City, losing 1-0 to national runner-up Texas in their final game.
In between the two games against Stanford, the Wildcats will play UC Davis twice, once on Feb. 20 and once on Feb. 21. The game against the Aggies on Friday will be followed by a game against Colorado State. Saturday, Feb. 22 will feature Texas.
The Aggies were 21-29 overall and 12-15 in the Big West. The Rams went 26-21 overall and 9-12 in the Mountain West.
Texas was ranked No. 1 for a good chunk of 2024. The Longhorns went 55-10 overall and 23-4 in their final Big 12 season. They went 3-2 in Oklahoma City, losing the championship series to Oklahoma in two straight games.
The Wildcats play their first road game in a one-off at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, Feb. 26. LMU was 28-25 last season. The Lions finished 9-7 in the WCC.
The trip to Southern California continues on the return games at Cal State Fullerton from Feb. 28-Mar. 2. The Wildcats face the Wildcats of Weber State first on Friday, Feb. 28. They play the host Titans immediately following in a doubleheader.
Weber State finished 22-28 overall and 8-7 in the Big Sky in 2024.
Saturday, Mar. 1 features another doubleheader. First up is Notre Dame. Longtime rival UCLA follows.
The Bruins were 43-12 last year. Their last year in the Pac-12 ended with a 17-4 record. They won the series against Arizona 2-1 in Los Angeles. They then defeated Arizona by the score of 6-5 in the Pac-12 Tournament. They went 1-2 in Oklahoma City, losing back-to-back against Oklahoma and Stanford.
Things wrap up on Mar. 2 against San Diego State. The Aztecs finished 31-20 overall and 15-7 in the MWC last season. They went 0-2 in the Los Angeles Regional, losing to Virginia Tech and GCU.
Arizona returns home to start Big 12 play against UCF on Friday, Mar. 7, but they will play another one-off nonconference game against Utah State on Monday, Mar. 10. The Aggies were 22-28 last year and 5-17 in the MWC.
A Big 12 home series against Utah will be followed by a road game at GCU on Wednesday, Mar. 19. The Lopes had a 50-13 finish overall last season. They were 23-3 in the WAC. They lost 3-2 at Arizona on Apr. 30, 2024.
GCU went 2-2 at the Los Angeles Regional, a run that included defeating 17th-ranked Virginia Tech to advance to the regional final.
The next five weekends find the Wildcats facing Big 12 foes Arizona State, BYU, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Texas Tech before another nonconference doubleheader.
The New Mexico State Aggies come to Tucson for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Apr. 22. The Aggies were 30-25 last year. They went 13-11 in Conference USA. Arizona defeated them twice in Las Cruces.
The Wildcats return to Southern California for two more games against San Diego State to complete their Big 12 bye week. The games will be held on Friday, Apr. 25 and Saturday, Apr. 26.
Arizona finishes the Big 12 regular season at Houston from May 2-4 before heading to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament May 7-10.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics
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