Super Scintillating Selections Top 30 Countdown: #6 Arizona Wildcats

Day 25 is upon us. As a reminder, from here on out I will not be giving a prediction for the featured team. For the predictions on the remaining teams you will have to listen to my podcast I will be releasing Tuesday 3/14. The podcast will include previews of highlighted matchups, predictions for the last seven teams, possible cinderellas, future content ideas I've been brewing in my head, and more.

Bill Walton, among others, refers to the Pac-12 as the “Conference of Champions.” It is true that the Pac-12 has won more national championships across all sports than any other conference. The problem is, I'm convinced Bill Walton thinks a team from the Pac-12 wins the national championship in men’s basketball every year. It hasn't happened since 1997. Will the drought end this year? There are really only two teams from the Pac-12 that can get it done in my eyes. UCLA and today's featured team, the Arizona Wildcats.

The Wildcats are led by second year head coach Tommy Lloyd, who in his first year at Arizona won AP National Coach of the year. Coach Lloyd took them to the Sweet 16 last season and is looking for more this season. Arizona wrapped up the regular season with a 25-6 overall record and a 14-6 record in the Pac-12, good enough for second place behind UCLA.

To be straightforward with you guys, I like this team a lot. I usually stray away from the Pac-12 but I'm sure you can probably guess why I like them. I'm not ready to commit to them fully though.

Lets get into it.

Why can Arizona break the Pac-12 dry spell?

Their 5 > Your 5. You won't find a more well-rounded starting five in college basketball (maybe Houston. Up for debate.). Azuolas Tubelis (19.9 PPG), Oumar Ballo (13.9 PPG), Courtney Ramey (10.8 PPG), Kerr Krissa (10.7 PPG), and Cedric Henderson (7.8 PPG). They also (for whatever reason) have Pelle Larsson coming off the bench averaging 10.2 PPG, him and Cedric Henderson seem to split time. It's like watching poetry in motion with these guys. They share the ball with each other (19 APG) and are all skilled in their own ways. Oumar Ballo and Azulas Tubelis are bruisers and dominate the paint, while the other four guards can shoot the lights out of the ball from inside and beyond the arc.

Experience. We are looking at one of the oldest teams in the nation. of the 6 or 7 players you will see on the floor for the Wildcats, they have only one freshman, Kylan Boswell. Everyone else is either a junior or senior with NCAA tournament experience. FEED ME THAT!!

You probably haven’t watched most of their games because they all start at or around 11 pm EST, but this squad has it going on offensively. #3 in points per game, #2 in Assists per game, #6 in shooting percentage, and #19 in 3-point percentage.

What’s holding them back?

Foul trouble. Arizona doesn't necessarily foul a lot as a team, which is part of the reason they are so good, but when they do it's bad news. In all of Arizona’s losses there have been AT LEAST one of those aforementioned players in foul trouble. The problem here is that Arizona doesn't have the deepest bench, so when one of their 6 main guys has to be restricted due to fouls, they are immediately put at a disadvantage. For example, against UCLA on Saturday, Arizona had 22 team fouls and three of their six main players fouled out. They lost by nine.

If they can stay out of foul trouble I like their chances to make a run, but that is a huge risk to take.

Next game: Winner of Utah/Stanford in Pac-12 Tourney