Arizona Rising

One year ago, the Arizona Wildcats saw their 25 year NCAA tournament streak come to a crashing halt in coach Sean Miller's first season. Fast forward a year later, and Miller has Arizona back in a familiar place, 1st place in the Pac-10 (19-4, 9-2). Arizona's current RPI is 15 and have a SOS of 42 - sure to drop as Pac-10 play continues.

Arizona doesn't have a signature win out of conference (Their best win is at N.C. State) and their two best opportunities were a neutral court loss to Kansas and a thumping at BYU. The other two losses were a loss at Washington and a 1-pt. loss at a terrible Oregon State.

Arizona is an offensive-minded team. 20th in scoring and efficient at that, 11th in FG%. They make 8 3's a game (29th) and do this efficiently as well, 40.8 % (9th). They also make their free throws, 74% (35th). They are deficient in protecting the ball, as they're 222nd in TO margin. KenPom likes them on this end as they're 11th n AdjO.

Defensively, they have some concerns. KenPom ranks them 52nd. Overall, they're 141st in scoring defense and 161st in FG%. They foul a lot, almost 20 a game (221st) and don't block shots (266th) or create steals (283rd). They can clean the glass (37th). Some of this probably stems from the youth of this team.

Of the top 6 scorers, only 2 are upper classmen with only 1 being a SR. The player to know is, SOPH F, Derrick Williams. Williams is shooting a ridculous 63.3% from the field, averaging almost 20 ppg to go along with 8 rpg. Williams has been getting a lot of pub lately and righty so, but there are a few flaws. As good as Williams can be, he has fouled out of 4 games, including the last 2. To be successful in March, it'll be important for Arizona to keep him out of foul trouble. That being said, the guy is a beast and looks to be capable of carrying a team.

Arizona may not be a Final Four caliber team this year, but it looks like Sean Miller is beginning to put his stamp on this program and the future in the desert is bright. EDIT. I looked at an old post. Brian has them in the 4-5 seed.