College Basketball Power 10: Seven of Top 10 Went Down Last Week
By Jeremy Karll
5. Arizona (20-2)
Arizona picked up its 13th and 14th straight wins of the season last week. The return of Allonzo Trier put Arizona back on the national map, but the Wildcats have been one of the most dangerous teams in the nation for a couple of months now.
They’ve beaten six of their 12 Pac-12 opponents by double-digits, including third ranked UCLA, and is the only undefeated Pac-12 team left after Oregon lost to Colorado last week.
Therefore, the Wildcats, who many people counted out after their 6-2 start to the season, control their own destiny and look like the clear-cut favorite in the Pac-12.
Arizona’s 113th-ranked scoring offense should improve with Trier back, but the Wildcats make their living on defense. Arizona allows the 21st-fewest points per game in the nation and hold teams to the 31st-worst field goal percentage and 13th-worst three-point percentage.
It showed last week when Arizona held Washington State and Washington to 62 and 66 points, respectively. It’s the sixth time in Pac-12 play that Arizona has held their opponent to under 70 points, and UCLA is the only Pac-12 team to score more than 80 points against them.
Arizona is rolling and everything is clicking for them right now. They travel to Oregon State and Oregon later in the week. A win over the Ducks will make it very hard to catch Arizona this season and could push them into the no. 1 seed conversation.