Editor's note: This story appears in the Star's NCAA Tournament preview section, which you can read in its entirety by clicking here.
For the first time since the 2017-18 season, the Arizona Wildcats are going dancing.
The Wildcats are not only a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they have some of the best odds in the country to reach the Final Four — a place Arizona hasn’t been in 21 years.
So, how did the Cats do it? These numbers explain it all.
18: Arizona got off to a 4-0 start under first-year coach Tommy Lloyd, but none of those games came against an AP Top 25 team. On Nov. 22, the Wildcats beat No. 4 Michigan by 18 points, marking the program’s first win over a Top 5 team by 18 or more points since 2001, when it beat Michigan State 80-61 at the Final Four.
Arizona joined the Top 25 poll the week after routing the Wolverines.
30: In early December, Bennedict Mathurin posted three straight games of more than 20 points and over 50% shooting. The third — a 83-79 win over Illinois on Dec. 11 — was perhaps Mathurin’s best as a college player. The star sophomore scored 30 points, one shy of his career-high, as the Wildcats delivered a signature comeback victory on the road.
10: With Arizona’s 101-76 win over Northern Colorado on Dec. 15, Lloyd became the second coach in program history to win his first 10 games. The first? James F. “Pop” McKale, who won his first 21 games in 1914.
21: In UA’s Dec. 22 loss at Tennessee, the Wildcats scored just 21 points in the first half — their lowest total of the season.
86.8: Following the defeat to the Vols, the Wildcats averaged 86.8 points their next five games — winning all five by an average margin of 21.6 points per game. With a 96-71 win over Cal on Jan. 23, Arizona reached its best start to a season (16-1) since 2013-14.
17.3: Mathurin averaged 17.3 points per game in his second college season to earn Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. He had 11 games of scoring at least 20 points and 18 games of shooting over 50%. He’s the ninth UA player in school history to win the award.
30.7%: Arizona shot a season-low 23 for 75 (30.7%) against UCLA on Jan. 25, extending the team’s losing streak to the Bruins to six games. But the Wildcats didn’t have to wait long for revenge.
5: Nine days after the first loss to the Bruins, Arizona took down No. 3 UCLA 76-66 in McKale. Five different UA players scored in double figures; sophomore Dalen Terry had 10 points while leading the Cats in rebounds (nine) and assists (seven).
2002: Two days after the UCLA win, the Wildcats continued their momentum with a 72-63 win over No. 19 USC. It marked the Wildcats first back-to-back wins over Top 20 teams since 2002.
86: Sophomore Christian Koloko blocked 86 shots during the regular season, most in the Pac-12 and seventh most in the NCAA.
9: Koloko led Arizona with nine double-doubles during the regular season.
17.8: Sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis averaged 17.8 points and 55% shooting over a nine-game stretch from Feb. 3-26. Arizona went 8-1 during that span.
1:26: UA point guard Kerr Kriisa knocked down a huge 3-pointer with 1:26 to go against Oregon at home on Feb. 19. The 3 — Kriisa’s third of the game and 11th by Arizona — broke a 76-76 tie and proved pivotal in the Cats snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Ducks.
21-10-10: Kriisa’s points, rebounds and assists on Feb. 25, when he become the 10th player in Arizona history to record a triple-double. Kriisa’s triple-double against Utah was Arizona’s first since Andre Iguodala did so during the 2003-04 season. Kriisa also buried seven first-half 3s.
8: Oumar Ballo recorded eight games with 10-plus points during Pac-12 play. In those eight games, he averaged 68% shooting.
20: The Wildcats led the NCAA with 20 games with 20 or more assists.
28: Arizona has gone on a scoring run of at least 10-0 in 28 games.
9: Lloyd is one of nine first-year NCAA head coaches all-time to win 30 or more games in their first season.
25: Of Arizona’s 28 regular-season wins, 25 came by 10 points or more.
3-1: Arizona was 3-1 during the regular season in games decided by four points or less.
13: The Wildcats went 17-0 at McKale Center,. marking the 13th time in school history they’ve been undefeated at home.
5: Five Arizona players earned all-conference honors, Mathurin (POY), Koloko (Defensive POY), Tubelis (first-team All-Pac-12), Terry (All-Defensive Team) and Pelle Larsson (Sixth Man of the Year). Lloyd was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
