Cats hope NIT magic returns

TUCSON — Four-plus years, and Sean Miller’s rebuilding work isn’t over yet at Arizona.

This week’s task: Some repairs to the Wildcats’ home away from home.

That is, winning basketball games at Madison Square Garden.

The No. 4 Wildcats (5-0) have lost two of their past four games at the venerable Manhattan arena, under both Miller and former coach Lute Olson, after winning all 10 of Olson’s first games there with Arizona.

The Wildcats were just 1-5 in early appearances at the Garden through 1951 but returned under Olson in 1990 and began taking over the place, always shining on one of basketball’s bigger stages.

“For the players, and probably for the coaches as well, there are two places you want to be: One is playing for the national championship and Final Four,” Olson said before the Wildcats played in the 2004 Preseason NIT. “The other is to play in the Big Apple, at Madison Square Garden.”

The Wildcats’ Manhattan magic was no more apparent than in 2001-02, when the unranked Wildcats — expected to be reeling from the early losses of Gilbert Arenas, Michael Wright and Richard Jefferson — managed to knock off a pair of Top 10 teams in Maryland and Florida in the IKON Classic.

There were other surprises, too, including a defeat of No. 5 Georgetown and Allen Iverson in the 1995 NIT and a coming-out party for Arenas in the 1999 NIT.

“I know so many great (UA) teams, some of which were under the radar at the time … went to Madison Square Garden and proved how good they were,” Miller said. “We’d like to do the same thing, certainly, making sure we’re at our best.”

To do so, the Wildcats probably will have to assume the kind of dominance that has been mostly lacking over the past decade.

UA will face Drexel (3-1) in the semifinals of what is now known as the NIT Season Tip-Off tonight at the Garden. The winner will face the Alabama-Duke semifinal winner on Friday.

That means a possible Top 10 showdown with No. 6 Duke (5-1), with all games broadcast on the ESPN networks. It’s a chance to open some eyes, in the Northeast and nationally, just like it was so many times before.

“I think everybody recognizes that being in this tournament is a great honor,” Miller said.

“Playing in Madison Square Garden speaks for itself, and playing against great competition on a neutral court — if you think about what that represents, that’s March.

“It’s preparation, it’s opportunity, and all those things that everybody wants to do well in the month of November.”