Basketball analyst Andy Katz ranks Arizona Basketball No. 8 in Pac-12

With the Arizona Basketball team preparing for the 2020 season, the Wildcats are ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 Power Rankings by Basketball analyst, Andy Katz.

We’re getting closer and closer to the start of the 2020-21 Arizona Basketball season, and with many analysts having mixed expectations for the Wildcats in the upcoming season, one analyst picked the Wildcats to be near the bottom.

Coming in at No. 8 on Basketball Analyst Andy Katz’s pre-season Pac-12 Power Rankings list, were the Wildcats.

Arizona Wildcats

The news broke via social media on Thursday afternoon, and to much of the dismay and disagreement of Arizona fans. To make matters worse, Arizona State comes in at No. 1 on his list.

Now granted, Andy at least has some merit in ranking the Wildcats anything outside of the Top 3-4 in my opinion, as Arizona may have some of the biggest questions to answer heading into the season. However, 8? Yuck!

What’s perhaps disturbing about this is him putting teams like Utah and USC ahead of us. As I may recall, USC lost quite a bit of talent from 2019-20, and when has Utah ever been a quality opponent in the Pac-12 under head coach Larry Krystkowiak?

Bias aside, I know the Wildcats lost virtually almost all of their production as well as their starters from the previous year, but people are really underestimating the incoming overseas talent, and I actually think this team may exceed expectations this season.

To be honest, I feel like we cannot take this poll too seriously, as I understand Andy is just an analyst, paid to give an opinion, just like myself in some ways. However, unlike Mr. Katz, I feel like I at least follow the Pac-12, versus being an East Coast analyst who merely watches re-runs and highlights of those inferior West Coast programs.

What this will essentially boil down to, is Arizona needing to play well while under the radar, and silence the critics.

Unlike most typical Arizona years, the Wildcats will have to get used to playing as the underdog. At Zona Zealots, we’re certainly intrigued by what will transpire over the next few months. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!