Being ranked No. 1 now puts 'big target' on Wildcats' backs

Arizona received its first No. 1 ranking in nearly a decade Monday, and the Wildcats’ history says that means they’ll go on to win the Pac-12 Conference and at least reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Along the way, though, the Wildcats will have to deal with being everyone’s favorite target. Starting Saturday, when 23rd-ranked Wisconsin comes to McKale Center after playing at Michigan State on Tuesday.

“Every team you play, they want a piece of you,” UA center Oumar Ballo said Saturday after the Wildcats improved to 7-0 with an 82-55 win over Colgate. “To get at No. 1, that’s a big target on your back. We just have to stay focused on ourselves, get better every day and come out to play every single night.”

The pressure could feel particularly acute in the weeks ahead.

The Wildcats’ ascent to No. 1 comes just before they will face four teams who are or have been ranked this season: Wisconsin on Saturday, Purdue on Dec. 16 at Indianapolis, Alabama on Dec. 20 in Phoenix and Florida Atlantic on Dec. 23 in Las Vegas.

Wisconsin entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 23 on Monday after beating then-No. 3 Marquette at home on Saturday. Purdue fell from No. 1 to No. 4 after losing at Northwestern on Friday.

Alabama (5-2) dropped out from No. 23 after losing to Clemson, and FAU (7-1) moved up from No. 13 to 11 after beating Liberty and Charleston last week.

Playing those teams ahead is where UA coach Tommy Lloyd’s eyes appeared to be when asked Saturday about possibly being No. 1.

“I think it’s something great for the fans and generates a little bit of excitement,” Lloyd said. “But at the end of the day, on Saturday, I don’t think Wisconsin cares. You’re gonna have a hard game for 40 minutes against a really good team.

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“If you’re No. 1, they don’t start you out at 5-0. You start out 0-0. So we’ll just approach it like that.”

While Arizona received 58 of 62 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, Houston (8-0) picked up three and Kansas (7-1) received one.

Overall, Kansas moved to the No. 2 spot after beating then-No. 4 UConn on Friday, adding to a résumé that already includes wins over Kentucky and Tennessee. Houston jumped from No. 6 to No. 3 after winning at Xavier on Friday, while defending national champion UConn slipped to No. 5.

For the second straight week, there were no other ranked teams in the Pac-12, which Arizona was voted to win in the conference’s official preseason poll.

In each of the five previous seasons that UA has held a No. 1 ranking, the Wildcats have won the Pac-10 or Pac-12. In the NCAA Tournament of those five seasons, UA finished in the Sweet 16 in 1988-89, the Elite Eight in 1997-98, 2002-03 and 2013-14, and made the championship game in 2000-01.

Rim shots

Wisconsin’s game with Michigan State on Tuesday at 5 p.m. will be shown on Peacock, which will also be streaming the Arizona-Purdue game on Dec. 16.

USC’s Boogie Ellis was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 28 points on 62% shooting in two games, while Washington State’s Myles Rice was named Freshman of the Week after averaging 23.5 points on 55% shooting in two Cougar wins.

Arizona had nominated Caleb Love for Player of the Week and KJ Lewis for Freshman of the Week.

Colgate’s lone offensive rebound against Arizona was scrubbed in a revised box score. The box score initially reflected a Colgate offensive rebound with three seconds left, but officials later determined the rebound occurred after the final buzzer. The Raiders emphasized sending players back on defense, leaving them vulnerable to Arizona’s defensive rebounds.