UA News

Half of the Pac-10 is currently tied for second place, including the Wildcats and Cardinal.

Unlikely as it once seemed at the beginning of the season, the Arizona Wildcats currently are in second place in the Pac-10 Conference, with a crowd of four other teams. That includes the Cats' next opponent Thursday night, the Stanford Cardinal.

The UA and Stanford are virtual statistical twins. Both played bruising non-conference schedules and head into their  game with identical records, 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-10. Both teams average 72 points on 44 percent shooting per game. Their opponents average 70 points against each of them.

The Cats shoot a Pac-10 best .739 percent from the free-throw line, slightly better than the Cardinal, which averages two more offensive rebounds per game.

And both are tantalizingly close to ending up in first place after this weekend, the midway point in conference play.

The good news for road-weary Arizona is that seven of their last eleven regular-season games are inside McKale Center, including Stanford, and division-leading California on Sunday. They return home having won three of their last four games, including a convincing 77-58 victory over Arizona State, with the nation's best defense, in Tempe last Saturday.

The Cats climbed out of a 10-point first-half deficit against the Sun Devils and scored almost at will in the second half as four UA players hit in double figures.

Freshman forward Derrick Williams scored 20 points for the third straight game. Kyle Fogg led all scorers with 21. Senior Nic Wise added 16 points with six assists and three steals. Jamelle Horne overcame a first-half ankle injury to score 11 and freshman Kevin Parrom pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Stanford also has won its last two games and is powered by senior Landry Fields, a guard-forward hybrid who shoots nearly 22 points and grabs nearly nine rebounds per game. 

In all, the UA and Stanford have played 78 times with the Cats holding a 49-29 series advantage, and 26-8 in Tucson. Arizona won last time out, a 101-87 triumph at McKale Center last March 7.

Sunday's game with California is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.