# 2000–01 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2000–01 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. The Wildcats finished the season second behind Stanford in the Pacific-10 conference with a 15–3 record. Arizona reached the National Championship game in the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to Duke 82–72 and finishing the season with a 28–8 record.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Loren Woods | Justin Wessel | Andrew Zahn | |
| PF | Michael Wright | Eugene Edgerson | Rick Anderson | |
| SF | Richard Jefferson | Luke Walton | Mike Schwertley | |
| SG | Gilbert Arenas | Travis Hanour | Jason Ranne | |
| PG | Jason Gardner | Lamont Frazier | John Ash | Russell Harris |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 20, 2000* | No. 1 | vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational quarterfinal | W 97–57 | 1–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI |
| Nov. 21, 2000* | No. 1 | vs. Dayton Maui Invitational semifinal | W 76–59 | 2–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI |
| Nov. 22, 2000* | No. 1 | vs. No. 8 Illinois Maui Invitational championship | W 79–76 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI |
| Nov. 25, 2000* | No. 1 | vs. Purdue John Wooden Tradition | L 69–72 | 3–1 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nov. 29, 2000* | No. 5 | Gonzaga | W 101–87 | 4–1 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 2, 2000* | No. 5 | Saint Mary's | W 101–41 | 5–1 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 9, 2000* CBS | No. 5 | at No. 15 Connecticut | L 69–71 | 5–2 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut |
| Dec. 16, 2000* | No. 7 | vs. No. 5 Illinois | L 73–81 | 5–3 | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec. 20, 2000* | No. 10 | LSU | W 88–75 | 6–3 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 28, 2000* | No. 12 | Butler | W 72–60 | 7–3 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec. 30, 2000* | No. 12 | Mississippi State | L 74–75 | 7–4 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 4, 2001 | No. 16 | California | W 78–75 | 8–4 (1–0) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 6, 2001 CBS | No. 16 | No. 2 Stanford | L 76–85 | 8–5 (1–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 11, 2001 | No. 21 | at Washington State | W 84–51 | 9–5 (2–1) | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, Washington |
| Jan. 13, 2001 | No. 21 | at Washington | W 89–64 | 10–5 (3–1) | Bank of America Arena Seattle |
| Jan. 18, 2001 | No. 17 | No. 24 USC | W 71–58 | 11–5 (4–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 20, 2001 | No. 17 | UCLA Rivalry | W 88–63 | 12–5 (5–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 24, 2001 | No. 12 | Arizona State Rivalry | W 86–75 | 13–5 (6–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan. 27, 2001* | No. 12 | No. 20 Texas | W 80–52 | 14–5 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 1, 2001 | No. 7 | at Oregon | L 67–79 | 14–6 (6–2) | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Feb. 3, 2001 | No. 7 | at Oregon State | W 68–41 | 15–6 (7–2) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Feb. 8, 2001 | No. 11 | Washington | W 82–62 | 16–6 (8–2) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 10, 2001 | No. 11 | Washington State | W 86–51 | 17–6 (9–2) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Feb. 15, 2001 | No. 8 | at No. 24 UCLA Rivalry | L 77–79 $^{OT}$ | 17–7 (9–3) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles |
| Feb. 17, 2001 CBS | No. 8 | at USC | W 105–61 | 18–7 (10–3) | LA Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Feb. 21, 2001 | No. 8 | at Arizona State | W 88–58 | 19–7 (11–3) | Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, Arizona |
| Mar. 1, 2001 | No. 9 | Oregon State | W 65–54 | 20–7 (12–3) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar. 3, 2001 | No. 9 | Oregon | W 104–65 | 21–7 (13–3) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar. 8, 2001 | No. 8 | at No. 1 Stanford | W 76–75 | 22–7 (14–3) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Mar. 10, 2001 | No. 8 | at California | W 78–76 | 23–7 (15–3) | Haas Pavilion Berkeley, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar. 16, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (15 MW) Eastern Illinois First round | W 101–76 | 24–7 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar. 18, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (10 MW) Butler Second round | W 73–52 | 25–7 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar. 23, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (3 MW) No. 14 Ole Miss Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 66–56 | 26–7 | Alamodome San Antonio, Texas |
| Mar. 25, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Illinois Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 87–81 | 27–7 | Alamodome San Antonio, Texas |
| Mar. 31, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (1 S) No. 3 Michigan State National semifinal – Final Four | W 80–61 | 28–7 | H.H.H. Metrodome Minneapolis |
| Apr. 2, 2001* CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke National Championship | L 72–82 | 28–8 | H.H.H. Metrodome Minneapolis |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||

### NCAA basketball tournament

* Midwest
** Arizona (#2 seed) 101, Eastern Illinois 76
** Arizona 73, Butler 52
** Arizona 66, Mississippi 56
** Arizona 87, Illinois 81
* Final Four
** Arizona 80, Michigan State 61
** Duke 82, Arizona 72

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | Not released |
| Coaches | 1 | 1^ | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 13 | Richard Jefferson | Houston Rockets |
| 2 | 31 | Gilbert Arenas | Golden State Warriors |
| 2 | 32 | Luke Walton | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2 | 38 | Michael Wright | New York Knicks |
| 2 | 45 | Loren Woods | Minnesota Timberwolves |