CBB national writer asks if Arizona is a contender or pretender post top 16 reveal

Carter Bahns of 247Sports examined the potential for Arizona in the NCAA Tournament in his article about "College basketball national championship contenders, pretenders after selection committee unveils top 16 seeds."
Feb 15, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) reacts after a foul was called during the second half against the Houston Cougars at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) reacts after a foul was called during the second half against the Houston Cougars at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Carter Bahns of 247Sports projects Arizona with a bright outlook in the NCAA Tournament in his article "College basketball national championship contenders, pretenders after selection committee unveils top 16 seeds" posted on Tuesday. Bahns includes Arizona among his contenders.

Arizona has grown throughout the season. After starting the season 4-5, Arizona has won 14 of its last 17 games. Texas Tech, Kansas State and Houston are the only teams to defeat Arizona in 2025. Arizona currently ranks ninth in the NCAA Net Ratings which would project them as the highest-rated three-seed.

The NCAA Tournament committee ranked Arizona 12th in the unveiling of the rankings on Saturday. Arizona was a projected three-seed in the East Regional behind Duke and Tennessee on Saturday. A lot can change when the actual brackets are revealed on March 16.

Arizona concludes the regular season with home games versus BYU and Utah in the next week and Arizona State on March 4. Difficult road games at Iowa State on March 1 and Kansas on March 8 conclude the regular season for Arizona. A win in Ames or Lawrence would be very impressive to the committee for Arizona.

"One element of team sports that often gets brushed off is how rosters can improve as the season progresses. Many of those who counted out Arizona in the first month of the campaign are back in on the Wildcats because of that in-season development. Henri Veesaar seemingly gets better every time he steps on the floor, and Tobe Awaka similarly turned himself into a bigger threat in Big 12 play as the Arizona rotation got deeper and more reliable. The ceiling is still likely as high as Caleb Love makes it, so he needs to avoid his occasional letdown games come tournament time."
Carter Bahns, 247Sports

Unpacking what Bahns said, Awaka and Veesar have improved significantly through the season. Love has too frequently had games where his shooting is off, but he remains the go-to player for Arizona. Tommy Lloyd inserting Anthony Dell'Orso into the starting lineup after the 4-5 start preceded Arizona's turnaround this season.

Lloyd made another change to the starting lineup on Monday. Veesaar started his first game as a collegian on the 74-67 Arizona win at Baylor on Monday and Trey Townsend came off the bench. Veesaar had 13 points on 4-6 from the field with five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block versus Baylor.

February has been the best month for Veesaar averaging 12.5 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks on 68.2 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent on three-point attempts. Awaka has also had arguably his most productive month for Arizona in February.

Awaka is averaging 9.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG and shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 83.3 percent on free throws. Lloyd was hesitant to start Awaka and Veesar together in case they got into foul trouble Now, freshman Carter Bryant, Towsend and if needed freshman center Emmanuel Stephen are the backup bigs for Arizona.

Although Dell'Orso has been starting since December, K.J. Lewis is third on Arizona in minutes per game behind starting guard Jaden Bradley and Love. Lloyd has frequently played five of the six of Awaka, Bradley, freshman Carter Bryant, Lewis, Love and Veesaar at the end of games.

Lloyd frequently plays his lineups based on matchups against the opponent. Veesaar primarily started against Baylor to give Arizona an advantage inside with the Bears starting four guards. The lineups Lloyd plays could continue to evolve even though there are only five regular season games remaining.