COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : Arizona Fans Don’t Hide Disapproval

On a sun-kissed spring day, Tucson’s Arizona Wildcat fans were in mourning Friday. Yet another first-round NCAA tournament defeat was enough to ruin an otherwise splendid day.

An expansive blue desert sky could not hide the tears of a disheartened community.

You could see the pain in the local newspapers. “March Sadness,” said the Arizona Daily Star. “First In, First Out,” cried the Tucson Citizen. In Phoenix, the Arizona Republic called it a “Cat-astrophe.”

Frenetic Wildcat fans had stronger words than that. They called the McKale Center basketball office nonstop, voicing their displeasure in no uncertain terms.

What got this town into a tizzy was Arizona’s 64-61 defeat by upstart Santa Clara in the West Regional on Thursday night in Salt Lake City. Considering that the Wildcats were bounced in the first round last year by East Tennessee State, the frustration was as high as a 104-degree fever.

The community had been so confident that the Daily Star listed Arizona playing the winner of Temple-Missouri under its television listings for today.

Scott Boone, 33, who manages a mailbox business in Tucson, said he is considering relocating because of the loss.

Who could blame him? He came West from New York, where he followed Syracuse until the Orangemen’s NCAA tournament performances left him so frazzled he had to get out of town. “I’m going to pick someplace else and run their team into the ground,” he said.

Kristin Coller, 20, a nursing student from Reno, said the upset ruined her spring break. It did nothing for her household, either. Roommate Dana Schoenwetter was so distraught she refused to talk to Coller.

After the dismal performance, there was little to say. Arizona fans said this year’s tournament was important because the Wildcats had not fared as well as expected in recent years.

Marcel Nzeukou, 34 and a captain of the Cameroon national basketball team for eight years, said: “Something’s got to change.”