Arizona Basketball: Are the Wildcats currently the best team in the nation?

Arizona basketball has won 15 straight games and is playing like a National Championship contender.

Allonzo Trier’s “suspension.” Parker Jackson Cartwright’s ankle injury. Ray Smith’s brutal ACL tear before the season.

If you looked at those three headlines, you would think Arizona was set up for the roughest and most difficult season of the Sean Miller error.

But even without Trier, Jackson-Cartwright, and Smith (who is still out), the Wildcats were one of the best teams in the Pac 12.

And it’s by no accident that Arizona has suddenly molded into one of the best teams in the nation with their leading scorer and top player back and their key point guard returning off the bench.

I would still take the Kansas Jayhawks as the best team in the country based on their last two wins (at Kentucky and home versus Baylor), but to say the Wildcats are far off would be a disservice to how well they have played. Miller’s squad has won 15 straight games, including victories over California on the road, Utah, USC on the road and UCLA on the road. Their only two losses of the season (to Gonzaga and Butler) were at neutral sites when they didn’t have Trier in the lineup and were dealing with personnel issues.

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Things have changed drastically since those two blemishes as Arizona has been elite on both ends of the floor.

On offense, they have numerous options to go to depending on the situation. Lauri Markkanen, who is averaging 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on 52 percent shooting and 50 percent shooting from deep, seems to be the Wildcats’ go-to option as a pick-and-pop big who has guard-like skills on the perimeter.

But Trier is also a dynamic scorer and was the team’s go-to player on that end of the ball in his freshman campaign. This season, Trier has become more well-rounded, distributing the ball better and not forcing the issue. Since returning, the sophomore is averaging 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game — the two latter numbers are career highs.

There’s no drop off after Markkanen and Trier, though, because Kobi Simmons is a “bucket getter” who has played with a higher basketball IQ as of late, and Rawle Alkins is a bully who can get to the rim at almost any point in the game. Even Dusan Ristic is a terrific offensive threat given the fact that he is 7’0″, has a mid-range jump shot and maintains good touch around the rim.

I’ve mentioned five players and I am still leaving out Kadeem Allen. Allen is more defensive oriented (we’ll get to that shortly), but he is also averaging 9.8 points per game and dropped 14 in a win over Washington last week.

Where Arizona really makes their money though is on the defensive end. The key staple of Miller-run programs: intense defense that will keep the opponent from getting comfortable for 40 minutes.

And that’s exactly what Arizona does.