Arizona frustrated at exclusion in NCAA Final Four video
Apr 1, 2021, 7:31 PM | Updated: Apr 2, 2021, 7:36 am
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MARCH 29: Aari McDonald #2 and head coach Adia Barnes of the Arizona Wildcats are all smiles as they are interviewed after the win over the Indiana Hoosiers during the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 29, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas.The Arizona Wildcats defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 66-53 to advance to the Final Four. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
A hype video tweeted by the NCAA on Thursday promoting the women’s Final Four was notably missing something: a fourth team, the Arizona Wildcats.
While Connecticut, South Carolina and Stanford were in the promo, Arizona was not. It certainly helped drive up the feeling of the Wildcats being underdogs as a No. 3 seed that is the lone team of the four that is not a No. 1 seed.
The video was later deleted, but it caught the attention of the Wildcats as they prepare for the Huskies on Friday.
“There was a situation today — there was a highlight video, and we weren’t even on it,” head coach Adia Barnes said Thursday. “Those are things I think that are missed sometimes and shouldn’t be because there are four teams that worked really hard to get here and have put in the same amount of work and wear the same shoes and uniforms and enjoying the experience.”
Barnes went on to say “stuff like that shouldn’t happen.”
Senior guard Aari McDonald was surprised watching it with fellow teammates and Barnes.
“I re-watched it a couple of times and I was like, ‘Wait, I didn’t see any red,’” McDonald said Thursday.
“It was frustrating,” she added. “Definitely took it as a sign of disrespect, but it is what it is. Gotta get it together. We’re not worried about that. We’re going to do our thing. Definitely you’re going to see that translate to the court.”
Arizona is in the Final Four for the first time in the program’s history. It takes on UConn at 6:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
