Wild About '88 Chapter 36: Arizona wins first Pac-10 Tournament Title.
This season marks the 35th anniversary of one of Tucson’s most beloved teams of all time, the 1987-88 Arizona Wildcats that finished 35-3 and went to the program’s first Final Four. We will celebrate that team by recapping each game during that unforgettable season by referencing newspaper archives and interviews conducted during the making of the upcoming documentary film ‘Wild About ‘88: The Rise of Arizona Basketball.’ (Some interview quotes in this series have been edited for clarity.)
March 13, 1988, vs. Oregon State (Pac-10 Championship Game at McKale Center)
When Arizona reached the championship game against Oregon State, winning the Pac-10 Tournament was a basic formality. The Wildcats dominated with little hostility in the conference all year long and were 18-0 at McKale Center.
Arizona also beat their Corvallis opponents twice during the season by a combined 37 points. The Beavers had a great year but they were the smallest team in the league and were without their injured leading scorer, Bill Sherwood.
Lute Olson admitted the loss of Sherwood was a huge body blow to Oregon State.
“I thought they did everything they could to compete. There was no question we had them badly outmanned on the front line,” Olson said.
Leading 8-7 early in the first half, the Wildcats jumped on Oregon State with a 15-2 run which the Beavers never fully recovered from.
After suffering a lackluster first half, senior big man Anthony Cook exploded offensively after halftime. He would score 17 of his 19 points in the second half and single-handedly helped give Arizona a nice cushion after the Beavers cut the lead to ten.
“It was great to see Anthony have the kind of second half he had. I told him at halftime that he was spending too much time waiting for things to happen,” Olson said.1
The Cats’ other front-line heroes also did some heavy lifting. Tom Tolbert finished with a double-double that included 13 rebounds while Sean Elliott had a team-high 20 points. Both big guys were rewarded with All-Tournament Team honors.
Oregon State’s Gary Payton would also be selected to the All-Tournament Team, but Steve Kerr had him disheartened during their matchup that afternoon.
“I remember there were several occasions where he was so frustrated because he couldn't get the ball from Steve,” Matt Muehlebach said in 2016.
Kerr, another All-Tournament Team selection, finished with 15 points, six assists, and one turnover against the Beavers.
“Today we played not the way we wanted to play. We played silly. We weren’t matching fire with fire. They came out all fire and put us away early,” Payton said.2
The Wildcats coasted to a 93-67 win. It was their first Pac-10 Tournament Championship in school history.
Arizona would finish the season with a 31-2 record. Wins over Syracuse, Duke, Michigan, and Illinois gave the Wildcats an impressive resume that was rewarded with a No. 1 seed in the West for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Next Up: March 18, 1988, vs. No. 16 seed Cornell.
Blog content and original interview quotations © Waterfoot Films 2023.
Jay Gonzales, “Arizona is no. 1 seed in the West: Wildcats defeat OSU by 26 in Pac-10 final,” The Arizona Daily Star, March 14 1988, Page Two—Section C.; Roy Gault, “Good news, bad news: Beavs make NCAA field, but ‘Cats romp to title,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, March 14 1988, Page One—Section B.; Memories ‘88, Dana Cooper.
Jay Gonzales, “Arizona is no. 1 seed in the West: Wildcats defeat OSU by 26 in Pac-10 final,” The Arizona Daily Star, March 14 1988, Page Two—Section C.
Roy Gault, “Good news, bad news: Beavs make NCAA field, but ‘Cats romp to title,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, March 14 1988, Page One—Section B.