Already one of the most intriguing teams in the Pac-10 given the October developments that left U of A without its most recognizable figure patrolling the bench for a second straight season, the pall over the Wildcats might only expand in these early winter months.

A November loss to UAB, a team with experience on the bench in former Indiana coach Mike Davis, and on the court, underlined pressing and significant issues facing the Wildcats. They Wildcats didn't always handle defensive pressure and the magnitude of the game itself definitely weighed on some of the more inexperienced players on Arizona's roster.

Even so, the Wildcats seemed destined to grab the victory over a pesky team with minimal credentials, when it rallied from a nine-point deficit in the ...More