Lute Olson came to Tucson in 1983 as the head coach of a dreadful basketball program. He had just taken Iowa to the Sweet 16 and was brought to the U of Arizona to turn the Wildcats around. His first season was a rebuilding year. They only won 11 games, missed the NCAA tournament and finished eighth in the Pac-10.

Since that season, Arizona hasn't missed the NCAA tournament, making it 24 straight times.

Now the streak is in jeopardy.

If Arizona can't beat rival Arizona State at the Staples Center today in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, what would be a third loss to the Sun Devils this season, it could mean no Big Dance for them.

Arizona's tournament streak is the longest active in the nation, but it has been a struggle in recent years to extend it. Last year, name alone probably got the Wildcats into the tournament, where they lost in the first round to West Virginia. Finishing just 19-15, with an 8-10 record in conference, Arizona was lucky to get in. With a weaker bubble this year, and a 19-12 (9-9) record, a win against a ranked Sun Devil squad might just do it, but a loss brings a more certain (and unpleasant) fate.

There is such a clutter of five or six picks that a first-round loss in the Pac-10 tournament means the losers should be headed to the NIT. Therefore Arizona has to beat ASU, and either way, there are many including myself that believe the streak’s end is inevitable.