'ZONA IN A ZONE : IMPROBABLE WILDCATS HEAD TO FINAL FOUR ARIZONA 96, PROVIDENCE 92.

Byline: Andrew Gottesman Chicago Tribune 

Arizona's Lute Olson just became the 14th coach in NCAA Tournament history to go to his fourth Final Four.

But do you think his critics will go away?

``I think people need to get to the present,'' he said after his Wildcats knocked off Providence 96-92 in overtime to win the Southeast Regional and advance to the round of four against North Carolina.

``It's time that people (recognize) what these guys have accomplished.

``I know I'll take heat and I accept that. Go ahead and give the heat to me, but don't blame these players for something they weren't involved in.''

A 1994 Final Four appearance never shook the memories of first-round losses to huge underdogs in 1992 and 1993. Another Final Four this season is unlikely to erase memories of a similar collapse in 1995.

But winning the whole NCAA tournament - as improbable as that seems since the Wildcats are the only non-No. 1 seed in a lot of four - probably would put Olson somewhat beyond second-guessing.

Olson also made a Final Four appearance with Arizona in 1988, and with Iowa in 1980, but he has never won a championship, or even made the title game. After his team won Sunday, Olson said: ``They can bury all of the talk of 1988 and 1994 if they step up.''

Everybody said next season would belong to Arizona. Arizona has made it this season.

In a thrilling overtime game - sometimes nasty, always intense - the Wildcats upended the Friars before 13,721 fans at Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

But the young Wildcats almost did find themselves waiting until next year. Arizona blew a 10-point lead with less than four minutes left in regulation, and only that errant Friars shot with time running out even allowed overtime.

``We haven't made it easy all year long, so I guess that continues,'' said Olson.

The Wildcats didn't show their best game against 10th-seeded Providence (24-12) - this tournament's true Cinderella, with aggressive and gutsy play - but it was enough. The game was almost entirely even, except in a few areas.

``I'll remember how nobody thought we would be here and how close we came,'' said Providence's Austin Croshere, the former Burbank resident who fouled out with more than nine minutes left in regulation to leave his team without its best scorer.

Added forward Derrick Brown: ``Even though things didn't work out how we wanted, we played as hard as we could.''

Providence won the big battle at point guard. Friars standout God Shammgod scored 23 points and had five assists; Wildcats freshman Mike Bibby had 17 points and four assists.

Arizona also committed 22 turnovers, resulting in 23 Providence points. And Providence outrebounded Arizona 38-26 in the second half, helping the Friars to 25 second-chance points.

But Providence, which shot only 39.5 percent, even missed layups. Sharpshooter Jamel Thomas had a particularly bad day, going just 9 of 29. Arizona guard Miles Simon, meanwhile, tied a career high with 30 points, earning MVP honors for the regional.

The Friars also lost their cool on several occasions, resulting in three technical fouls and wasted energy. Arizona wound up with 38 free throws to 25 for Providence.

``Our emotions took over and we made some bad decisions,'' said Providence coach Pete Gillen. ``Our best attribute - our emotion, our fire - hurt us.''

Largely on that basis, the Wildcats had an 82-72 lead with 3:42 left in regulation. Yet poor time management and ballhandling by Arizona, along with fouls of its own, turned things around.

After four points by Brown, along with three apiece by Shammgod and Ruben Garces, Arizona led only 85-82. Thomas capped the comeback by hitting a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go.

Brown then forced another Wildcats turnover at half-court, but Shammgod missed a shot with five seconds left. Friars guard Corey Wright got one more chance to win it - the inbounds play was designed for Brown, a much better shooter - but his three-point try was way off.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Arizona's Bennett Davison, left, and Mike Bibby can't seem to believe they just made it to the Final Four.

(2) Providence's God Shammgod, right, flies in against Arizona's A.J. Bramlett in the first half.

Associated Press