After a 4-5 start, Arizona has played its way back into the national conversation with four consecutive wins. The 72-67 Arizona win at then-16th-ranked Cincinnati on Saturday was the first statement victory for Arizona this season. Arizona gets a second chance at a marquee win on Tuesday night at West Virginia.
Following the games played on Monday night, Arizona is ranked 16th in the NCAA Net Ratings. These ratings play a crucial role in determining at-large teams and seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Currently, Cincinnati is 30th while West Virginia is 26th in the Net Ratings.
Houston, Iowa State and Kansas are the only Big XII teams ahead of Arizona in the Net Ratings. Arizona plays Iowa State home and away this season, hosts Houston and finishes the regular season at Kansas. The Wildcats will have an opportunity for quadrant one and two wins for most of the rest of the regular season.
Is his article examining the "Midseason national title contender tiers: The no-brainers, teams on the doorstep and March Madness dark horses."Isaac Trotter of 247Sports praised Tommy Lloyd for finding the right rotation. Center Henri Veesaar and freshman forward Carter Bryant have been a big reason for Arizona's recent success.
"Arizona (8-5): The Wildcats dominated a good Cincinnati club on the road for close to 30 minutes in Saturday's 72-67 victory. Tommy Lloyd has been tinkering galore with his rotations, and he might have found something with Carter Bryant and Henri Veesaar at the 4 and 5, respectively, providing some much-needed floor-spacing to keep the paint open for drive-first point guard Jaden Bradley. Arizona's recipe still revolves around defense, glass dominance and transition buckets, but there might be a light in the tunnel offensively for a group that looked like it was in a dire spot less than a month ago."Isaac Trotter, 247Sport
Veesaar is averaging 7.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds and shooting 57.1 percent from the floor this season. Bryant is averaging 5.4 PPG, 3.0 Reb, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and making a respectable 11 of his 33 three-point field goal attempts. Bryant and Veeasar give Arizona more athleticism and outside shooting.
A lineup of Bradley, K.J. Lewis and Caleb Love with Bryant and Veesar would likely be the most athletic Arizona could put on the floor. Arizona would lack a consistent three-point shooter with those five playing together. The Wildcats are 300th nationally shooting 31.0 on three-point attempts.
As Trotter said, Arizona thrives in transition. Arizona is 38th nationally averaging 14.62 fast break points per game, 11th with a rebounding margin of over 10 per game and 38th with opponents shooting 39.7 percent from the floor. The Wildcats need to thrive on their athleticism and the formula mentioned by Trotter.
Arizona was slow to build chemistry this season with Bryant and transfer forwards Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend and wing Anthony Dell'Orso new to the team. Lloyd has found a lineup that works. Arizona needs continue building chemistry with the next goal to be able to sustain success for 40 minutes.