CRITICISM SNOWS OVER OLSON.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Kids dusted off their parents' old sleds, or washed the garbage can lid, before heading to the nearest hill and partaking in something rarely seen recently.

A few weeks ago it snowed in Tucson, Ariz., which is one rare sight, about as atypical as another recent happening in the desert -- coach Lute Olson hearing catcalls, the unkind variety, as his Arizona Wildcats were pounded on national television by North Carolina.

The Wildcats' 92-64 loss was their worst at home since Olson became Arizona's coach in 1983, and now that half of the Pacific-10 Conference schedule is complete, Arizona (14-6) is sitting in sixth place at 5-4, despite a No. 6 RPI rating.

Although some in southern Arizona might wonder if time has passed Olson by, it clearly has not. Give it some time, because in another sixweeks the Wildcats will be in the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd straight March.

Depth and the type of nonconference scheduling to be proud of have contributed to Arizona's plight, but the key is Olson can still recruit. The 72-year-old is still one of the best when it comes to attracting top high school talent. Part of his five-member class for next season include five-star recruits Jerryd Bayless (St. Mary's of Phoenix) and Jamelle Horne (San Diego Senior).

``He's been recruiting at a very high level consistently, over the last few years,'' Tracy Pierson, a scouting analyst for scout.com, said of Olson. ``He's one of the top five or six when it comes to recruiting for any national program.''

Olson convinced Chase Budinger to pick Arizona over UCLA, and he beat Connecticut for Marcus Williams. J.P. Prince and Jawann McClellan were elite prospects, and forward/center Ivan Radenovic is one of the toughest players in the Pac-10 to match up against.

In fact, Arizona's starting five may be the best in the league, but it is the depth, and possibly the travel, taking its toll.

All five starters are averaging at least 31.2 minutes per game, and the Wildcats have played at Virginia, at Madison Square Garden (vs. Louisville) and at San Diego State. They also played North Carolina, Memphis and Illinois.

And that doesn't include a conference road that has already included games at USC, at UCLA, at Washington and at Washington State, all of which have been ranked this season.

``I think we're OK,'' Olson said. ``We played very well against Arizona State and got the win (71-47 last Wednesday) we needed there. Now, it's just a matter of the challenge to our guys of, `OK, the first round in league, we lost one at the buzzer, one in overtime and two others that were very competitive games.' We just need to see whether we can do things a little bit better the second time around.

``But we have the Washington trip out of the way and the Southern California trip out of the way. That doesn't mean the others are easy because they're not, but if you give me the choices of the road trips in the second half of the season compared to the first half, then I would definitely take the schedule we have ahead of us.''

But there was a big outcry after the loss to North Carolina, in which the Wildcats were 1 for 23 from 3-point range.

``It was an embarrassment,'' McClellan told reporters afterward. ``It was just a plain embarrassment. That's the only way I can describe it.''

Lobos lowdown: No. 15 Nevada is getting most of the publicity in the Western Athletic Conference, but second-year coach Reggie Theus has resurrected New Mexico State's program with a handful of transfers.

The Aggies, who beat Nevada earlier this season, were 17-4 overall (including 7-1 in conference play), heading into Wednesday's game against Boise State.

They are led in scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg) by Utah transfer Justin Hawkins. Second-leading scorer Fred Peete (10.7ppg) is a Kansas State transfer, junior-college transfer Hatil Passos is averaging 10.6 points and UNC-Charlotte transfer Martin Iti is scoring 6.7 points a game.

``We can go eight-, nine- or even 10-deep,'' New Mexico State senior guard Shaun Davis said. ``We have a good record, and we are still trying to feel each other out. I think that's why we have our ups and downs, but as far as talent goes, there's probably not many better teams in the WAC.''

Remember him? Former UCLA assistant coach Ernie Zeigler is off to a nice start in his first season at the helm of Central Michigan. The Chippewas are 8-11 (including 3-4 in the Mid-American Conference). Zeigler took over a program that was 4-24 last season.

Freshman forward Marko Spica, who originally signed with UCLA but was not admitted, is averaging 6.8points in 18 minutes per game for Central Michigan.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1) Arizona coach Lute Olson thinks the best is yet to come from the Wildcats, who have a 14-6 record after facing a tough first-half schedule.

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

(2) Texas' Kevin Durant reacts after hitting a 3-pointer Saturday against Baylor.

Deborah Cannon/Associated Press

Box:

(1) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Brian Dohn

(2) THEY SAID IT

(3) KEY STAT

(4) RUMOR MILL

(5) SCOUTING THE FIELD

(6) THIS WEEK'S BEST BET