Arizona took leads of 8-0 and 13-2, and the lead embedded itself in double digits after the 15:00 mark of the first half. The Waves never recovered, shooting just 36% for the game and a woeful 15% from the three-point line.

Stoudamire was everything the Waves were not, nailing nine of 13 shots, including five of nine from three-point range, to pace the Wildcats with 25 points. Frye, meanwhile, racked up 18 points, ten rebounds, and five blocks, as yet another opposing big man took advantage of the Waves' size and experience deficiencies.

The Wildcats' heart and soul, junior guard Jason Gardner, cruised to 16 points and seven assists while letting his freshman teammates enjoy a McKale Center victory for the first time. The Wildcats had played the nation's toughest traveling schedule, registering only a loss to Kansas on their home floor, before Friday.

Predictably, the Waves were outrebounded, though it may register as progress that the margin was just five, 44-39.

Arizona was not the only team to show off superstar freshman talent. The major bright spot for the Waves was freshman guard Terrance Johnson, who led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Boomer Brazzle was the Waves' only other double-figure scorer with 12. Leading scorer Jimmy Miggins managed just eight, and Craig Lewis, for some reason, played just ten minutes and had two points.

The Waves face West Virginia, a 76-57 loser to Valparaiso in the other first-round game, in the consolation game Sunday.

Though rebounding is the Waves' most obvious problem, their inability to run effective offensive sets is becoming even more distressing. In the Waves' previous game against Point Loma, head coach Paul Westphal inserted steady PG Micah McKinney and PF Brazzle into the starting lineup over the more dynamic Devin Montgomery and Johnson. In the three-game losing streak that preceded the Point Loma win, the Waves had exhibited far too much one-on-one play and were shooting themselves out of games early. Stability in the starting lineup would have seemed a remedy.

But the overall style of play has changed very little. Johnson, is transcendent enough to get his points no matter what his role in the rotation is -- he is not the problem. Montgomery has seemingly gone from starter to third-string PG behind McKinney and Gary Colbert. But the decision-making that is costing the Waves has spread to the entire roster.

Westphal comes from the NBA, where players have the ability to create their own shot and isolation plays for the superstars are commonplace. But a college team, naturally, is not that skilled top-to-bottom. It is imperative to run quality offensive plays on every possession. Other than Johnson and Miggins, no one on this roster can create scoring opportunities for himself -- unless pulling up for long jumpers counts. The Waves' 4-26 performance at the three-point arc suggests it does not.

"I give (Arizona) credit, but I also give us blame," said Westphal of the blowout loss. "If you're patient, you can run your offense and you won't be taken out of a game. We weren't patient."