12. Arizona (17-6)
Halfway through December this Arizona team sat at 4-5 with some regrettable performances and a few close losses. They wasted every opportunity in nonconference play, but aren’t letting their chances go by the wayside in the Big 12. It’s their first season in this new league though it’s not been any kind of a nightmare making this transition as we’ve seen in recent weeks.
The Wildcats, still riding high over last week’s big one over Iowa State, won another game away from home on Tuesday, triumphing 85-74 at BYU. Caleb Love shined with 18 points and 6 rebounds while Jaden Bradley and Henri Veesaar added 17 points each. On Saturday Arizona avenged their only loss in conference play, beating a ranked Texas Tech 82-73 to stop the Red Raiders’ own winning streak. Love and Bradley each scored 16 points, with the Wildcats shooting 52% as a team in the great win.
Even when things went south early in the season, Tommy Lloyd and company didn’t panic. They weren’t playing great basketball early on and have even had some tough performances lately, but this team has now won thirteen of fourteen and sit 11-1 in the Big 12. It’s almost not possible for things to be going better at this point for the Wildcats but there’s no time to rest. They’ll head to Manhattan to play a suddenly hot Kansas State squad before a tougher test against Houston to cap off next week.