Opening Statement: ?We are back to see if we can get the job done on Thursday night. It is a very important game, obviously. I thought Washington played really well yesterday (at North Carolina State). They missed some lay-ins down the stretch, other wise they would have came out in that one, and that would have been a great win for our conference. I think they really represented our conference well.?

?Washington has been playing well. They have gotten good play out of their bench. They go about nine people deep, so they stay fresh and make a lot of things happen with their fast break, which becomes a key thing that I think we need to be able to control.?

?They have excellent scoring balance, and it should be a very good test for our team. With them, it is a huge game from the standpoint of where they finish in the league and what?s going to happen in regards with the Pac-10 tournament seeding.?

On Washington?s athleticism: ?They are very athletic, and they are quick. You look at (Mike) Jensen, he is a good perimeter shooter like Channing (Frye) is, and they have guys who can put it on the floor and penetrate. I thought Bobby Jones played really well yesterday. They have been playing (Brandon) Roy some at the four-spot, which gives them an athletic guy inside, so they do match up well with us.?

?Washington has had a lot of close games that they have pulled out. They have been running the break really well, and getting a lot of opportunities off the fast break.?

?Washington was expected to do well, because they basically have the same team that they had last year. I would think that they probably had a disappointing start with what was anticipated, but they have certainly turned it on now.?

On Arizona?s team chemistry: ?The biggest disappointment is that we have always been a good defensive team. I can?t remember when we have not had a good defensive team. And that is the biggest disappointment to me, the lack of any kind of consistency on the defensive end of the court. It is hard to figure out. One of our primary problems has been communication all season, and suddenly it seemed like we were doing that a whole lot better. And then we had some really huge breakdowns at Oregon and Oregon State. We have had one guy break down, and that is all it takes in a team defense. It only takes one guy not to communicate, or not to make the switch when they should, and it is not something that should be happening.?

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