College Basketball Power 10: Welcome To The Top 10, Cincinnati Bearcats
By Jeremy Karll
7. Arizona (21-3)
Don’t jump off the Arizona Wildcats’ bandwagon yet. Their 85-58 loss to Oregon is really embarrassing and not what people expected from a team trying to make a case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but there is still plenty of time for them to right the ship.
Don’t forget that Allonzo Trier has been back for just five games, therefore Arizona will get better with more experience playing together. It doesn’t excuse a 27-point loss that felt much worse, but it is a reason to believe Arizona can turn their season around, again.
Besides, before their loss to Oregon, Arizona won their past 15 games, including dominating UCLA on the road. Plus, they were undefeated in Pac-12 play before the weekend and are still tied for first with Oregon.
With talented players like Kobi Simmons, Lauri Markkanen and Trier, it’s no surprise Arizona is top five in points per game and points allowed per game in conference play this year.
That said, they need to prove they can consistently win against ranked teams, as they’re just 3-3 against teams that have been ranked at some point this season.
Arizona hosts Stanford and California this week.