2) Arizona Wildcats (7-3)
LW: 2
Arizona has quality wins over Iowa State and UConn and two “good” losses on their resume against Gonzaga and Auburn. However, their loss to Alabama was alarming to me.
The Crimson Tide have losses to Northeastern and Georgia State on their resume yet bothered Arizona with their length and was able to get into the paint whenever they wanted. That loss has taken some of the shine off those previous wins for the Wildcats, but they’re still better than what anyone outside of Arizona State has.
Brandon Randolph (17.1 ppg) has stepped up to become this team’s star but they’re at their best when Justin Coleman plays well – and that hasn’t happened consistently enough. Still, Arizona is better than many expected they would be this season.
1) Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1)
LW: 1
The Sun Devils had their undefeated start come to an end last weekend against Nevada, but they can take some solace in the fact that they led by double-digits for most of that game.
Freshman point guard Luguentz Dort (22.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg) has emerged as a legitimate star and someone capable of going up against the very best players in the nation. His presence has helped the Sun Devils become one of the better teams in the country, but it’s also their athleticism, size, and length (25th tallest team in the country after being 265th last year) that poses major problems for opponents.
Their energy and activity gave opponents headaches in 2017-18, but their upside was limited because of how small and three-point centric they were. This year, they play the same way but have better athletes and much bigger players – making those headaches much more severe.
They’ve clearly been the best and most consistent team in the conference, making them the only choice for No. 1 at this point.