Lute Olson made his first men's Final Four appearance in the spring of 1988. The tournament was the Wildcats' first time playing in the national semifinal game. Sean Miller, today's University of Arizona men's basketball head coach, intends to reach his first Final Four exactly 30 years later.
The 1988 Wildcats had high expectations going into the season, though nowhere near as high as Miller's squad does for the 2018 season. Arizona finished second in the Pac-10 in 1987, but was then knocked out of the inaugural Pac-10 men's basketball tournament in the Wildcats' first game, with a 72-63 loss to the No.