2023-2024 Arizona Basketball

[U.P. Zona Fan]

#2 in kenpom 5 in Oeff 4 in Deff.

[Beachcat97]

#2 in kenpom 5 in Oeff 4 in Deff.

These numbers, even if they sag a little, will be outstanding on Selection Sunday, but they may also distort things to some extent, given that most of our games are coming against a historically bad Pac.

[U.P. Zona Fan]

Other teams that ended top 5 in both at kenpom

Virginia in 19
Nova in 16
Duke in 10
Kansas in 08
Unc in 07*
Unc in 05
Illinois in 05*
Duke in 04
Kentucky in 03*
Duke in 02* (#1 in both)
* Didn't win the tourney.

[U.P. Zona Fan]

This is against the #4 schedule in the country, Kansas is at 33 sos (for context, they are #19 at kenpom now) Houston at 149 sos (#1 in kenpom) Purdue #2 sos, #3 kenpom (that loss to Nebraska rocked their Deff)

If Washington st puts up 90+ on us, I'd imagine we'd take a dip as well. Unless there's 97 possessions.
We win that game 135 to 92.

[dovecanyoncat]

We should start the Official Let's Jinx our Chances Thread.

[Postmaster]

I really don’t think Caleb will play another year of college ball. He can play pro ball next year if he wants to. Maybe not NBA, but he can go get paid in Europe or Asia.

The more interesting situation, to me, is Kylan. He could be an all-American next season, and he’d probably be the best PG in the Pac. But he’s a future pro, and if he’s given a guarantee that he’ll be taken in the 2nd round, I think he’s gone.

Best PG in the what now?

I might be the best PG in the Pac next year

[dovecanyoncat]

Had to go to the club at halftime to bleed off the heart rate blues. Fucking WSU. At least I got to watch Houston lose its second game in a row.

[AZCatGirl]

I think we all agree the lineup needs to change.

[84Cat]

Still #2 in kenpom, #5 AdjO, #4 AdjD and #2 in the Net rankings

[U.P. Zona Fan]

I saw that too, was wondering if it had not updated properly.

[pc in NM]

When the Arizona offense devolves into one-on-team mode (this year, typically with Caleb being the "one"), we get a lot of "WOW!!!, and are more vulnerable to lose.

I agree with CTL - this team "relaxes" against low-rated opponents, and acts as if they can "turn it on" whenever they like. They, if fact did that, and took the lead with 5:00 left - then they were outplayed for 5 minutes!!!

But, there were some great "WOW!!!'s".

Plain and simple, this team lacks "POISE".

[Beachcat97]

When the Arizona offense devolves into one-on-team mode (this year, typically with Caleb being the "one"), we get a lot of "WOW!!!, and are more vulnerable to lose.

I agree with CTL - this team "relaxes" against low-rated opponents, and acts as if they can "turn it on" whenever they like. They, if fact did that, and took the lead with 5:00 left - then they were outplayed for 5 minutes!!!

But, there were some great "WOW!!!'s".

Plain and simple, this team lacks "POISE".

Wasn’t able to watch yesterday. I assumed we win easily.

This team has multiple older, experienced players. Ballo, Larsson, Johnson and Love. These guys have to play with the poise you’re looking for, pc. If the seniors aren’t setting the right tone, and playing with urgency and intensity every week, we can’t expect the younger guys to do it, imo.

One of the things I was most excited by, with Johnson and Love transferring to AZ, was the idea of having these older players who’d been in the Final Four. You need guys like this to win a championship. And recent AZ teams have lacked this kind of player. A TJ or Nick Johnson or Jason Gardner. Without senior leadership and poise, this team isn’t going to do anything noteworthy in March.

[TheCat]

Love had excessive attempts but that is a direct results of Kylan's reluctance to shoot. This started in the first few minutes of the game when he missed two straight free throws. If he will not even pretend to be a threat we are playing 4 on 5. The matchup we had problems with at forward we could have overcome but it was hard to understand how we were matching up. Larsson is critical to keep on the floor and Tommy had to go with him but he was not near as aggressive as he should have been late.

This has been a tough weekend for Arizona sports and we just wasted our bye week (1 game).

It is good to see Tommy with such emotion about a loss and hopefully this can springboard us forward.

[AZCatGirl]

The pressure on Tommy is 10x worse now that Fisch is gone. He really needs to figure this out quick.

[Beachcat97]

The pressure on Tommy is 10x worse now that Fisch is gone. He really needs to figure this out quick.

I’m really not much of a football fan, but my UofA friends have been freaking out today. As hard as it is to see Jedd leave, it wouldn’t compare to Tommy leaving for Gonzaga.

[AZCatGirl]

I just mean basketball is the only game in town again, so that puts even more pressure on Tommy to produce results than before.

[Beachcat97]

I just mean basketball is the only game in town again, so that puts even more pressure on Tommy to produce results than before.

Think he's doing just fine with the pressure. Tommy's the real deal.

[arizonawildcats]

[dmjcat]

The pressure on Tommy is 10x worse now that Fisch is gone. He really needs to figure this out quick.

I’m really not much of a football fan, but my UofA friends have been freaking out today. As hard as it is to see Jedd leave, it wouldn’t compare to Tommy leaving for Gonzaga.

I don't think we have to worry about Gonzaga offering CTL a $54M contract..........Now one of the B1G/SEC schools??? Different story. We are now living in a universe where the members of those two Super-Conferences will be able to outbid the poor old UA for whatever they want.

[pc in NM]

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

As our relative strength-of-schedule sinks vs Pac-12 opponents, we're heading for a #4 seed.

Just like '96-'97....

[84Cat]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

[pc in NM]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Please - there is not one single so-called “bracket” that means a damn thing today…

[Beachcat97]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

[Merkin]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

I imagine so especially with Boswell's sophomore slump and lack of confidence having the Cats play 4 on 5.

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

I imagine those games would be losses for Arizona if held this week.

[dovecanyoncat]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

I imagine so especially with Boswell's sophomore slump and lack of confidence having the Cats play 4 on 5.

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

I imagine those games would be losses for Arizona if held this week.

Nope, we're golden. Our 1-8 will play well.

[Beachcat97]

It's amazing how losing to Stanford and WSU just takes the wind out of the old sails.

You want to see a team becoming more consistent as the season wears on. Taking the night off against Pac opponents just makes me think this team will do the same thing against an early round opponent in the tourney.

Still a long way to go before March. I expect to go 2-0 this week.

[pc in NM]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

I imagine so especially with Boswell's sophomore slump and lack of confidence having the Cats play 4 on 5.

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

I imagine those games would be losses for Arizona if held this week.

… with injuries, suspensions and scandal, most likely!!!

[U.P. Zona Fan]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

I imagine so especially with Boswell's sophomore slump and lack of confidence having the Cats play 4 on 5.

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

I imagine those games would be losses for Arizona if held this week.

Furd and Wazzu have as good a shot as any other pac team of making the tourney at this point, except maybe Oregon.

[Beachcat97]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Somehow I think more such losses are coming.

I imagine so especially with Boswell's sophomore slump and lack of confidence having the Cats play 4 on 5.

Arizona #12 in AP, #13 in coach's...

Both Duke and Wisconcin rated in Top 10.

I imagine those games would be losses for Arizona if held this week.

Furd and Wazzu have as good a shot as any other pac team of making the tourney at this point, except maybe Oregon.

Wazzu is 52 in NET (2-3 vs. Q1)
Stanford is 103 in NET (2-1 vs. Q1)

Wazzu has a better chance, but I'd be a little surprised to see either team in the tourney. Among Pac teams not named AZ, Utah is looking good. Next would be Colorado and Oregon. This feels like a year where anyone could win the Pac tourney.

[KaibabKat]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:
100 Arizona
89 Utah
42 Oregon
29 Colorado
16 UW
13 Tempe Normal
6 WSU
6 USC
4 Stanford
0 UCLA
0 California
0 OSU

[Lute4God]

We're still the top 2 seed on Bracket Matrix so there is still hope for a good seed. We just need to stop losing to non tournament teams

Please - there is not one single so-called “bracket” that means a damn thing today…

Aww : (

But hypothetical fun is 67% of our entertainment here!

[Beachcat97]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:
100 Arizona
89 Utah
42 Oregon
29 Colorado
16 UW
13 Tempe Normal
6 WSU
6 USC
4 Stanford
0 UCLA
0 California
0 OSU

Could we have another year where the Pac champion misses the NCAA tourney? Would be a fitting end to this dismal conference.

[Merkin]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:

0 OSU

I am old enough to remember when Ralph Miller had really good OSU teams.

Along with OSU having a more recent Elite 8 tourney than Arizona.

[Beachcat97]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:

0 OSU

I am old enough to remember when Ralph Miller had really good OSU teams.

Along with OSU having a more recent Elite 8 tourney than Arizona.

Isn't it crazy that we have more in common the past couple decades with a team like Xavier than with Kansas, UNC, Villanova and other current elite programs? Both Xavier and Arizona have won a bunch of league titles and have gotten to multiple Elite Eights. But neither has been to the Final Four.

[KaibabKat]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:

0 OSU

I am old enough to remember when Ralph Miller had really good OSU teams.

Along with OSU having a more recent Elite 8 tourney than Arizona.

I am old enough to remember Ralph Miller sitting on the bench smoking cigarettes during a game in McKale.

[Beachcat97]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:

0 OSU

I am old enough to remember when Ralph Miller had really good OSU teams.

Along with OSU having a more recent Elite 8 tourney than Arizona.

I am old enough to remember Ralph Miller sitting on the bench smoking cigarettes during a game in McKale.

I’m old enough to remember when our fan base loved the other Miller, and no one knew who Tommy Lloyd was.

[dovecanyoncat]

Team Rankings - current odds (%) to recieve a bid to the NCAA Tournament:

0 OSU

I am old enough to remember when Ralph Miller had really good OSU teams.

Along with OSU having a more recent Elite 8 tourney than Arizona.

I am old enough to remember Ralph Miller sitting on the bench smoking cigarettes during a game in McKale.

I’m old enough to remember when our fan base loved the other Miller, and no one knew who Tommy Lloyd was.

I'm too old for this shit.

[Beachcat97]

I'm old enough to remember the '97 team but young enough to not yet be worried about that being the team's only championship in my lifetime.

[UAEebs86]

I'm old enough to remember the '97 team but young enough to not yet be worried about that being the team's only championship in my lifetime.

Well I started as a freshman in the fall of 1982, and my number one sports dream was Arizona playing in the Rose Bowl, and you know how that worked out.

[Beachcat97]

I'm old enough to remember the '97 team but young enough to not yet be worried about that being the team's only championship in my lifetime.

Well I started as a freshman in the fall of 1982, and my number one sports dream was Arizona playing in the Rose Bowl, and you know how that worked out.

Oy vey. Yeah, I feel you. Never getting to the RB is a tough pill; losing Jedd is probably a tougher one, especially given his public statements.

I missed the Desert Swarm year, when they were on the cover of SI.

Lute won it all during my freshman year, so talk about setting a high bar! They did get back to the FF in '01, and we probably should've won that game vs. Duke. But overall, I saw some incredible basketball while I was a student. And in the years immediately following, we had Walton and Iggy and Salim and a bunch of other stars.

I can't believe we're going on a quarter century without a Final Four. Imagine if '05, '11 or '15 had gone the other way. Or even the '03 loss to Kansas. Going 0-fer in all these E8s...the horror!

[arizonawildcats]

[TheCatInTheHat]

USC's got a core of seniors, led by Boogie Ellis. In terms of talent, they're big, athletic, and deep. But, even when healthy, they've been a disappointment. And they're not particularly healthy. Freshman star Isaiah Collier is out with a hand injury until next month. Ellis is supposedly questionable with a hamstring, and big Joshua Morgan the same with an undefined illness. We'll see. They played a fairly tough non-conference schedule, with neutral court wins over Kansas St and Seton Hall, but losses to Oklahoma and Gonzaga, as well as a road loss at Auburn. But they also lost at home to UC Irvine and Long Beach St. In the Pac-12, they swept the Bay Area schools at home, but got swept at the Oregons and by Colorado, and they lost at home to WSU.

[KaibabKat]

USC should be no problem for this team and that's the problem.

[arizonawildcats]

[Beachcat97]

USC should be no problem for this team and that's the problem.

They were missing key players, so there was almost no way we were going to lose this, even though we let them hang around much too long.

I can't put my finger on why this team has grown listless and underwhelming.

Did we overachieve in Nov/Dec, or are we just in a midseason funk?

[TheCatInTheHat]

Kind of hard to believe UCLA is in this situation. They're playing lots of freshmen and sophomores, which is on Cronin, but historically "UCLA Good" freshmen and sophomores would be mulling over pro options, which is not the case. Non-conference, they started out with two losses in Hawaii to Marquette and Gonzaga, lost at Villanova, then lost at home to Ohio St...and Cal St Northridge. They wrapped up their significant non-conference games with a win over Maryland. In the Pac-12, a loss at Oregon, swept at home by the Bay Area schools, and lost (by 46) at Utah. Recent improvement with a win over Washington, and (while playing okay) being handed the game last night at ASU with the unprecedented 5 second-half technical fouls against ASU. Never want to overlook them, and I want the win in their last visit to McKale.

[pc in NM]

USC should be no problem for this team and that's the problem.

They were missing key players, so there was almost no way we were going to lose this, even though we let them hang around much too long.

I can't put my finger on why this team has grown listless and underwhelming.

Did we overachieve in Nov/Dec, or are we just in a midseason funk?

Psssst!! Pass it on: “zone the ‘Cats!”

[Beachcat97]

USC should be no problem for this team and that's the problem.

They were missing key players, so there was almost no way we were going to lose this, even though we let them hang around much too long.

I can't put my finger on why this team has grown listless and underwhelming.

Did we overachieve in Nov/Dec, or are we just in a midseason funk?

Psssst!! Pass it on: “zone the ‘Cats!”

Didn't Miller's teams have issues against zone defenses too? Wtf

Also, if we get knocked out of the tourney by a zone defense, gonna be a really tough pill. It's only January 18th. Fix this, coaches.

[arizonawildcats]

[Postmaster]

That’s cool
Some football guys involved also