ESPN stated, "For Arizona, it was its road win at UConn in mid-November -- after already notching wins away from home over Florida and UCLA (Auburn and Alabama would soon join that group)" that placed it in the group of National Championship contenders.
Connecticut and Michigan are the other teams in the ESPN "Tier I: National championship favorites" among the "Men's college basketball tiers: Ranking 47 teams from contenders to Cinderellas" posted on Thursday.
Arizona won 71-67 at Connecticut in November. Connecticut was with star freshman guard Braylon Mullins and starting center and leading rebounder Tarris Reed Jr. against Arizona. The Wildcats beat the Huskies in large part because of a 39-19 rebounding advantage.
Arizona added BYU to its group of wins against ranked teams in 2025-26. Auburn and UCLA have dropped out of the rankings after Arizona defeated them. The Wildcats are the only teams nationally with nine quad one wins in the NCAA Net Ratings.
"Arizona currently sits at 21-0 after beating BYU in Provo on Monday, leading by as many as 19 points and...dominant for most of the game. Tommy Lloyd has a clear national championship favorite, with an ideal balance of youth and experience, guards and bigs and the best defense he has had since taking over in Tucson...The Wildcats can beat teams in different ways, with Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries anchoring the perimeter, and Koa Peat, Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka controlling the paint. Ivan Kharchenkov's emergence as one of the elite defenders in the Big 12 takes the Wildcats to another level at that end of the floor, too."Jeff Borzello, ESPN
Arizona had dominant wins, beating Auburn 97-68 and Alabama 96-75 in Birmingham. Arizona avoided an epic collapse at BYU. The Wildcats led by 14 with under five minutes remaining and by 10 with one minute left in the game. Arizona held on when Brayden Burries blocked the shot of Rob Wright II of BYU.
Burries led Arizona with 29 and Jaden Bradley had 26 for BYU. For the majority of this season, rebounding is what has provided Arizona with a big advantage over the opposition. Arizona is third nationally with a rebounding advantage of 13.0.
Arizona has ascended to the top of KenPom and the NCAA NetRatings after being the unanimous team in both polls for the last two weeks. Michigan remains first in EvanMiya and Bart Torvik. The Wolverines' only loss was to Wisconsin.
Arizona has had exceptional balance this season in multiple ways. Seven Wildcats average at least 8.4 points per game. Arizona is fourth in KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and fourth in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. The Wildcats have beaten opponents in multiple ways.
Arizona will be tested in February with five games against ranked opponents. Getting through those five games will continue to clarify how good Arizona is. Barring a complete collapse in that stretch, Arizona should be a lock for a number one seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.