Both women’s basketball teams from the state of Arizona are fighting for something. The Arizona Wildcats would like to get over the hump and beat the Sun Devils after pushing Arizona State twice this season, perhaps giving them a better profile for a possible WNIT berth if they choose to play. ASU wants a third win and a chance to improve their bubble profile for the NCAA Tournament. Both will get that chance in the first round of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Arizona went into the day
in 14th place in the Big 12 with a 3-15 record in conference play, but it didn’t control its own fate. UCF just needed to beat last-place Houston to drop Arizona to 15th due to head-to-head results. The Knights did that with a 72-62 win in Texas.
ASU was in a logjam in the middle of the standings. A 58-51 loss to No. 20 Texas Tech left the Devils outside the top 8 teams which get byes in the first round of the tournament. Their 9-9 league record puts them in 10th.
It was a significant improvement for ASU after finishing 15th in the Big 12 last year and 11th in the Pac-12 the year before. The Sun Devils had not finished above the bottom third of their league since they were sixth in the Pac-12 in 2019-20.
It was the opposite for Arizona, which had only finished outside the top half of its league once in the past six years. The Wildcats finished in the top third of the Pac-12 from 2019-20 through 2022-23.
It’s a new ballgame now, though. The Wildcats have to feel good about their chances.
UA did not make it easy in either rivalry game this season. It lost to ASU by 7 points in Tempe. A few weeks later, the Wildcats pushed the Sun Devils to overtime before falling by 6 in Tucson. Neither team will have a homecourt advantage this time as both travel across the country for their third meeting.
The two teams play on Wednesday, Mar. 4 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. The game will stream on ESPN+ and Derrick Palmer will have the radio call on 1400 AM in Tucson. The time is to be announced.
