Under his tenure, major planning began[14] for a larger and more modern basketball arena (which would become McKale Center) to replace the outdated Bear Down Gymnasium.

[13] Snowden led Arizona to the NCAA tournament twice, in 1976 and 1977, getting as far as the Elite Eight in 1976 before losing to UCLA 82–66, a game after defeating UNLV in a Sweet Sixteen matchup.

Snowden's 1976 team also won the school's only WAC championship title on a buzzer-beater by Gilbert Myles verses New Mexico, with the help of the spectacular play of Bob Elliott, Jim Rappis, and Al Fleming.

[12] Known for his high-octane offense and remembered as a trailblazer, Fred "The Fox" Snowden brought excitement to Arizona basketball during his 10-year tenure as the program's head coach.

His best season came in 1976, when the Wildcats went 24–9, won the Western Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA West Regional Final.

Athletic Director Dave Strack brought in Ben Lindsey to replace Fred Snowden in 1983, and on the surface, it seemed like a reasonable move.

The year following the Championship season, 1998, Arizona returned all 5 starters (Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson, Miles Simon, Bennett Davison, and A. J. Bramlett[18]) and were poised to make another run after receiving the #1 overall seed in the West, but were upset by Utah in the Elite 8.

In 1999, all 5 starters were lost to graduation or early entry to the NBA draft and Arizona's hopes of continuing its streak of consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament was in jeopardy until senior point guard Jason Terry (the 6th man the previous two seasons) elevated his game (receiving National Player of the Year honors) and continued the school's amazing streak.

In 2000, former Wildcat Jason Terry, stated that he received approximately $4,500 in cash, checks and wire transfers from New York sports agent Larry Fox, after his junior season.

In addition, Arizona asked Terry to repay the $45,363 in forfeited NCAA 1999 tournament revenue and banned him from the U of A Sports Hall of Fame, including a provision that his jersey would not be retired.

With guard Jason Gardner, center Loren Woods and forward Michael Wright — each an All-American — leading the way, the Cats trounced their opponents, beating Oregon 104–65, devastating USC 105–61, and charging through the Final Four.

Continuing the reputation and nickname "Point Guard U,"[3] recent standouts include Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire, Mustafa Shakur, Jerryd Bayless and Nic Wise.

Arizona would win Olson's last Pac-10 title during the 2004–2005 season under the spectacular play of seniors Salim Stoudamire and center Channing Frye.

[24] A few days later, Olson's personal physician held a press conference and explained that the retirement was strongly advised due to health concerns.

Despite a 19–13 finish to the season, Arizona was controversially selected as one of the last teams into the field of 65 as a 12th seed in the Midwest region, extending its NCAA consecutive tournament appearances to 25 years.

[29] Despite Pennell's post-season success, he was not retained, as Arizona announced before his hiring they would hold a national coaching search after the season ended.

[29] (On April 9, 2009, Pennell was hired as head coach of the men's basketball team at Division II Grand Canyon University, a member of the Pacific West Conference.)

In response, Arizona self-imposed sanctions that included a reduction in the number of recruiting visits by coaches and prospective players, the disbanding of a booster group, and implementation of a series of administrative and rules changes to prevent further violations.

[32] The NCAA found that Olson failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at the university but decided against sanctioning the coach because he was retired and had health issues.

Arizona was perceived to have interest in Gonzaga's Mark Few, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and then-Memphis coach John Calipari (before he accepted the vacant position at Kentucky) to take the job.

[33] Miller was formally introduced as the 13th head men's basketball coach at Arizona at a press conference on April 7, 2009, at McKale Center.

[40] In the second half, Williams' teammates picked up the slack, dominating the Blue Devils by scoring 55 second-half points and routing the defending champs 93–77.

On December 9, 2013, Arizona became the #1 ranked Team in the Country for the 6th time in school history, after a 9–0 start with wins over traditional national powerhouses Duke and UNLV.

Arizona defeated #13 Utah in Salt Lake City the same day, winning its share of the Pac-12 regular season title.

[50][51] On March 1, Miller held a joint press conference with the university denying all allegations and stating he would be retained as men's head basketball coach.

[68] Arizona again would replace the entire starting 5 for a third straight season but bring in another top 10 recruiting class, 7th overall led by six international players from Canada, Estonia, France, Lithuania & Turkey, as well as the United States.

[71] On February 20, Sean Miller would win his 300th game at Arizona in only his 408th, 3rd fastest for any coach at any Pac-12 school by defeating the #17 USC Trojans by a score of 81–72.

[72] During the halftime of match up against Washington, Arizona would induct former players Ernie McCray (1958–60) & Al Fleming (1972–76) as the 26th & 27th members of the program's Ring of Honor.

Both Lloyd and Few have been heavily influenced by the European style of basketball (and a focus on recruiting international players), as well as the uptempo, player-focused offense as implemented at Arizona under Lute Olson.

A total of 36 Wildcats have or will earn entry into McKale Center's Ring of Honor, the display of names that begins in the southeast corner of the building's rafters.