1. Arizona (22-0)
It becomes much harder to argue against Arizona as the top team in the country as time progresses. The Wildcats are the only power conference team that remains unbeaten and they’ve spent these last three months winning games to prove their value. The work done in nonconference play against the likes of Alabama, UConn, and Florida was outstanding and they just keep making magic happen in the Big 12.
On Monday night, Arizona survived a significant challenge with an 86-83 road win over BYU, building a big lead before surviving a late charge from the Cougars. Brayden Burries scored 29 points while Jaden Bradley added 26 points on the road. The Wildcats nabbed another win away from home this weekend, persevering 87-74 at Arizona State to sweep their in-state rivals. Koa Peat led the scoring with 21 points while Burries added 17 points and 7 rebounds.
We’re into the meat and potatoes of the conference schedule for Arizona and they certainly passed that initial test against BYU. The Wildcats’ offense has been impressive all season long and has scored at least 80 points in most of their wins in league play. This strong, versatile lineup finds ways to win games and bully people and that’s likely to continue next week against Oklahoma State. However, things toughen significantly after that.
Another fascinating week of basketball featured notable matchups and interesting changes to our Top 25 rankings. With what we’ve seen both this week and in the recent past, are these top teams the ones to watch the rest of the season? Will someone else emerge as a national contender?