Arizona basketball continued to show off its dominance, capping it off with the Big 12 title. Can they now win the ultimate prize, the NCAA Tournament?
Arizona has been one of, if not the best, teams all season long. They were the second-to-last undefeated team in college basketball and earned the regular-season title. The job is far from finished, but they showed the newer watchers of college basketball this week that they are a team capable of winning it all.
How they got there:
Winning the Big 12 by 2 games earned them an auto bye to the Big 12 tournament semifinal game. They faced off against Iowa State in one of the best games in all of college basketball this season. Jaden Bradley hit an unbelievable buzzer-beater in that one to give Arizona yet another quality win and advance them to the final.
In the championship against Houston, they were in control, leading for 93% of the game. Bradley was named the Big 12 tournament MVP, and Brayden Burries joined him on that All-Tournament team.
General Information:
Team: Arizona
Location: Tucson, AZ
Record: 32-2 (16-2)
Head Coach: Tommy Lloyd (5th season overall, all at Arizona)
What to know about Arizona basketball:
This Arizona team thrives on its depth. They have five players averaging in double figures, and two more at 9 a game. They can beat you in so many different ways. Defensively, they’re elite. They’re top three in defensive efficiency across all metrics sites, in large part due to Mo Krivas, the anchor down low. Bradley, the Big 12 Player of the Year, is also an elite two-way guard.
They thrive on their size. Krivas is 7’2, Koa Peat and Tobe Awaka are 6’8, and even their guards play big. It is so tough for teams to match up with them from that perspective, and as a result, they dominate the paint. They average the 3rd most rebounds in college basketball, and the most defensive rebounds. They get to the line and, as mentioned earlier, understand their roles really well.
The only “weakness” on this team is that they don’t shoot threes. They don’t have to, but in March, having that threat is obviously important. What is good is that guys like Anthony Dell’Orso have stepped up in those games where teams have tried to force Arizona to beat them from deep. This team doesn’t really have any weaknesses. Their only losses were at Kansas in a crazy Allen Fieldhouse and at home against a healthy Texas Tech team in a game where Koa Peat missed the second half.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Arizona basketball: National Champions
Seed: 1
Arizona was given the #2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament behind Duke. With Duke’s injury issues and Michigan, the #3 overall seed struggling down the stretch, Arizona looks like it’s in the best position to cut down the nets. Again, this team has very few weaknesses, and it would take a lot of things to go wrong for them to even suffer a scare anytime before the final four.
Anything can happen in March, though, and head coach Tommy Lloyd has had issues going deep in the tournament, so perhaps that can change. Playing at their best, though, don’t be surprised if Arizona brings home its first championship since 1997.