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This is what it was like a few minutes after midnight at McKale Center:

NIT officials C. M. Newton and Carroll Williams were sitting in the media relations office attempting to re-seed the loser's bracket.

"I like Arizona going to Davidson,'' said Newton, former Kentucky athletic director.

Williams, former head coach at Santa Clara, agreed. "Arizona can fly to Atlanta and bus to Charlotte,'' he said.

Twenty feet away, interim UA head coach Russ Pennell sat at the back of the room, alone with his thoughts. He looked sick. He was sick.

As Pennell walked into an interview room, Alabama-Birmingham coach Mike Davis almost skipped across the McKale Center court and hugged a woman wearing an Arizona t-shirt.

He and his team are headed to Madison Square Garden for the finals of the NIT. Plans are firm. The Blazers beat Arizona 72-71 in the most bizarre finish of a college basketball -- of any basketball game -- you will ever see.

"This is really big for our team,'' said Davis. "We came to the NIT to beat a great team and this gives us an opportunity to go to New York and get some nationally-televised games.''

There can be some debate about use of the term "great'' when applied to this fragile Arizona basketball club. After Tuesday's loss -- after the final 29 seconds of absolute chaos -- the Wildcats may go from fragile to fractured.

In the UA locker room, sophomore Jamelle Horne was sobbing when he walked to the showers.

It was Horne who inexplicably, intentionally fouled UAB's Paul Delaney III with one second remaining in a tie game. Delaney made one of the two free throws. Merry Christmas.

"Jamelle made a poor decision,'' Pennell said. "He's broken up about it.''

Obviously, Horne either thought Arizona trailed or that Delaney had enough time to reach the UAB basket for an easy, game-winning layin.

Have you ever seen anything like that in basketball? The final five minutes were pure chaos -- lots of college basketball finishes produce nervous-system-damaging situations -- but this was an extreme ending to a superb game.

"That play gets magnified,'' said Pennell.

Well, yes. It will get magnified, dissected and not be forgotten for a long time.

Arizona won't be going to New York City over Thanksgiving, which may be just as well. Playing Oklahoma on national TV probably wouldn't be kind to the Wildcats. They may profit more from a two-game consolation bracket, probably in Charlotte, N.C., involving Davidson and James Madison, although the pairings won't be announced until later Wednesday.

Losing to the Blazers the way Arizona lost to the Blazers blotted out several remarkable performances, among them Jordan Hill's 22-rebound, 13-point performance, and Chase Budinger's 27 point night.

If there was one objection to Arizona's final play -- tied at 71 with 17.4 seconds remaining -- it was that Pennell instructed point guard Nic Wise and not Budinger to take the last shot.

Pennell hoped Wise would be aggressive, attack the basket and either get fouled or dish to someone, Hill for instance, for an open dunk.

But Wise missed a fade-away jumper, UAB rebounded and Horne went on his ill-advised pursuit of Delaney.

"You can put that one on me,'' a somber Pennell said. "Chase came up to me and said 'Coach, next time I'd like to have the ball.' ''

And why not? If this Arizona team is to break .500 and challenge for a post-season berth, Budinger is probably going to need to lead the Pac-10 in shots attempted. He took 17 on Tuesday. Had he taken 20, had he been a bit selfish, he would have shot 20 times and the Wildcats might have won.

Instead, Arizona's streak of four NIT finals appearance has been broken in the most unexpected way.

"I want it to sting,'' Pennell said. "I want it to hurt. We've got guys in the locker room bawling their eyes out.''

This time a good cry may be the only good therapy.