Arizona and five other teams at the top of the Pac-12 standings are separated by only one game so far this season, but the Wildcats still carry a certain cachet by one measure.
After each of UA’s three Pac-12 losses, an opposing player has picked one of the conference’s weekly player awards.
On Monday, it was Oregon State’s Jordan Pope winning the Pac-12’s Player of the Week award after dropping 31 points in the Beavers’ 83-80 upset of the Wildcats on Thursday, including a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. Pope also scored another 19 in the Beavers’ win against ASU on Saturday.
On Jan. 15, after Washington State upset UA 73-70, the Cougars swept the weekly awards. Forward Isaac Jones was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after collecting 24 points and 13 rebounds against the Wildcats while also collecting 26 rebounds and 11 rebounds in an earlier win against USC. Meanwhile, Myles Rice was named Freshman of the Week after scoring 18 points and dishing five rebounds against the Wildcats.
And on Jan. 2, Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle took Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers and scoring 28 points in the Cardinal’s 100-82 win over Arizona on Dec. 31.
Pope picked up the honor this week over Caleb Love, whom Arizona nominated after he tied the Matthew Knight Arena single-game scoring record with 36 points against Oregon and also scored 19 against OSU.
Wildcats drop to No. 11
Arizona dropped from No. 9 to No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after splitting its final Pac-12 trip through Oregon over the weekend.
The Wildcats (15-5, 6-3 Pac-12) remain highly regarded in the computer metrics: fourth in NCAA NET ratings, fifth in Kenpom and sixth in Torvik.
In NCAA Tournament bracket projections that were both posted before Arizona beat Oregon on Saturday, ESPN had Arizona as a No. 2 seed in the West Region while CBS had the Wildcats as a No. 3 in the West.
Defending champ UConn (18-2) remained atop the AP Top 25 spot after beating Xavier by 43 on Sunday, while Purdue (19-2) stayed at No. 2 after topping Michigan and Rutgers.
North Carolina, Houston and Tennessee round out the top five.
Among other UA opponents this season, Duke (15-4) moved up from No. 12 to No. 7 after beating Louisville and Clemson, Wisconsin (16-4) moved from No. 13 to No. 6 6 after beating Minnesota and Michigan State while Florida Atlantic rose from No. 22 to No. 20 after beating Rice and North Texas.
Arizona's Oumar Ballo shoots over Cal's Fardaws Aimaq during UA's 100-81 win in Berkeley on Dec. 29. The teams rematch Thursday night at McKale Center.
Bear Up
While Arizona opened Pac-12 play by smacking Cal 100-81 at Haas Pavilion, the Bears will enter the rematch Thursday at McKale Center with some momentum.
After winning just three games all of last season, the Bears have won two straight, over Washington State in overtime on Jan. 20 and 73-71 over Stanford last Friday. Both games were at Haas Pavilion, which warmed up with a crowd of 8,710 fans to watch cross-bay rival Stanford.
“The Golden Bear family had our backs,” guard Jalen Celestine said, according to Cal Sports Report. “There was a time they could have gave up on us ... the fans were really on our side. I loved it, man.”
Even though Cal coach Mark Madsen played for Stanford, Cal Sports Report said he was “furiously exchanging high-fives with fans and hugging everyone in his path as he left the court.”
Afterward, Madsen expressed “gratitude for everyone who came out.”
“It felt great,” Madsen said.
Late-night Boulder showdown
Arizona's Feb. 10 game at Colorado has been set for 8 p.m. and will be carried on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The game is expected to have major implications in the Pac-12 race. The Buffs (6-4) play at Utah and vs ASU at home before then, while Arizona (6-3) has Cal and Stanford at home this weekend and will play at Utah on Feb. 8.
Arizona has not beaten Colorado in Boulder since 2014-15, a streak of five straight losses. The teams did not play there last season, nor in 2016-17 and 2019-20.
Position awards narrow
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the top-10 finalists for its Bob Cousy Award, honoring college basketball’s top point guard, and it will narrow its other four position lists as the week goes on.
Arizona’s Caleb Love has been on the watch list for the Jerry West (shooting guard) Award, which will announce a top 10 on Tuesday. UA's Keshad Johnson was on the watch list for the Karl Malone (power forward) award, which will be narrowed on Thursday, while Wildcats center Oumar Ballo was on the watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list that will announce a top-10 list Friday.
No Pac-12 players made the Cousy top 10. USC’s Isaiah Collier was the only Pac-12 player on the watch list for the award, but Collier broke his hand earlier this month and has been out.
Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd speaks on his team's performance after the Wildcats defeated Oregon 87-78 in Eugene, Oregon on Jan. 27, 2024. (Video courtesy Arizona Athletics)
