The Arizona Wildcats were named the No. 1 preseason team in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook on Monday, making the Wildcats a consensus top pick among the major preseason annuals.
Earlier this month, Athlon Sports and Street & Smith's ranked UA No. 1, while Lindy's had Arizona second behind Michigan State.
Blue Ribbon Yearbook editor Chris Dortch said the Wildcats edged out Michigan State for the top spot in his voluminous preseason annual.
“Both Arizona and Michigan State were worthy No. 1 candidates, and a strong case could have been made for Duke and Kansas, too," Dortch said in a statement. "But in the final analysis, our writers and editors liked the size and experience Arizona can put on the floor.”
Blue Ribbon also put UA junior Allonzo Trier on its second all-American team and freshman DeAndre Ayton on the third team.
The Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls will be released next month. The Wildcats haven't been ranked No. 1 in either major preseason poll since 2002-02, though they were No. 2 in both before the 2014-15 season.
Arizona set the time of the Red-Blue Game to 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 20.
Timmy Allen, a 2018 forward from Mesa, committed to Utah. He had also considered San Diego State, UCLA and ASU, among others.
The Bulls posted behind-the-scenes video of Lauri Markkanen and other new arrivals.
