The Arizona men’s basketball team was selected by media as the clear favorite to win the Pac-12 conference this season after receiving 21 out of 23 potential first place votes in preseason voting.
The UA only lost one vote apiece to UCLA and Colorado. Oregon, Cal, Stanford, and ASU round out the top 7 projected Pac-12 teams.
The Wildcats were additionally ranked No. 5 in the country by USA Today coaches’ poll Top 25 and will represent one of just three Pac-12 teams on the list, with Oregon fitting in at No. 18 and UCLA at No. 23.
The emergence of T.J. McConnell, the Wildcats’ first pass-first point guard in years has generated plenty of media hype and some already consider him to be the most impactful transfer of the year.
Other players expected to affect this year’s team are the highly anticipated talents of freshmen newcomers Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
