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Arizona Basketball: 5 reasons why Wildcats will win Pac-12 in 2019-20

By Holden Walter-Warner

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 19: The Arizona Wildcats mascot cheers against the Texas Southern Tigers during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 19: The Arizona Wildcats mascot cheers against the Texas Southern Tigers during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 16: Singer Carnell Johnson performs the American national anthem before the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 68-48. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 16: Singer Carnell Johnson performs the American national anthem before the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 68-48. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

4. Wide open conference

Much is made of the Pac-12’s foibles in major sports in recent years. The coming year will likely validate those feelings about the conference once more.

Outside of Arizona, only Oregon has a good chance of being ranked when the season starts. Washington is on the fringe of that discussion, but we’ll be relying largely on a group of freshmen and transfers.

The conference’s glamor program, UCLA, endured one of the most embarrassing coaching searches in recent memory, facing rejections and disinterest at every turn. Mick Cronin will turn the Bruins around eventually, but not immediately – that’s going to take some time.

USC, Arizona State, and Colorado are on the cusp – then again, they’ve each been on the cusp for some time now with little to show for it. The rest of the Pac-12 should largely bottom out this season.

That leaves a void at the top of the conference. Perhaps the Wildcats wouldn’t be running near the front in the ACC or Big Ten this season, but teams can only play who they have on their schedule. A welcoming slate should provide the fuel for Arizona’s first conference title run since 2018 (so it hasn’t been that long).

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