March Madness is here and these are predictions on how the Arizona men’s basketball team will do from our sports desk.
Ryan Wohl: Elite Eight
Arizona is coming off of their second straight Pac-12 tournament championship and show no signs of slowing down. There are two teams in this region that the Wildcats have already beaten with San Diego State University and Creighton University. I think it will come down to an Elite Eight matchup against the University of Alabama and star Brandon Miller. I believe this is where Arizona’s journey ends, but a Sweet Sixteen and an Elite Eight appearance in the first two years of the Tommy Lloyd era is very good.
Mason Duhon: Elite Eight
The Arizona men’s basketball team will be successful this March. They should have no problem getting through Princeton University in the Round of 64. In the second round, they’ll take on either the University of Missouri or Utah State University which should be an easy second win. Facing Creighton or Baylor University in the Sweet Sixteen could pose problems, but Arizona should be able to prevail if they stay locked in. If Arizona draws Alabama or the University of Virginia in the Elite Eight, their season will end. If not, they will go down in the Final Four.
Jason Dayee: Elite Eight
In this year’s tournament, I believe the furthest the Arizona men’s basketball team will go is the Elite Eight. Last year’s team came into the tournament as a No.1 seed in the South after winning the regular-season championship and Pac-12 Championship championship and only made it to the Sweet Sixteen. This year’s team does not have the same level of talent as the last year’s team and that has shown in their total wins and ranking in the country. However, with the adversity and challenges this team has had to overcome, I believe those intangibles will allow this year’s team to take that next step in tournament play.
Leading the team offensively this season is Azuolas Tubelis scoring 19.7 ppg. While on the other side of the ball leading the team defensively is Oumar Ballo, one of the best defensive players in all of college. These two lead the team on the court along with Tommy Lloyd’s leadership. They are going to be a very tough out for anyone in tournament play as they look to make a deeper push this year.
Nathaniel Levin: Elite Eight
Arizona is riding a wave of momentum following their second straight Pac-12 Championship. My prediction is that Arizona will reach the Elite Eight, but they will ultimately fall to the No. 1 seed Alabama. Over the last two months, Arizona has been inconsistent, going a couple of weeks of fantastic basketball, and then a week of bad basketball. Arizona’s tourney success depends on which basketball team shows up.
Delaney Penn: Final Four
Tommy Lloyd is going to lead the Arizona men’s basketball team to the Final Four. I have faith in this team. It would be awesome to see them go far in the tournament. Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo are going to need to put in the work.
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