Arizona’s preseason profile already looks like one of the sport’s sharper ones, and the first major computer ranking to drop says as much. Ken Pomeroy has the Wildcats at No. 5 in his 2026-27 preseason KenPom ratings, placing Arizona among the elite as the countdown to the new season picks up speed.
The timing fits. Arizona is scheduled to play the first of three exhibition games on Tuesday, and the Big 12’s annual media days are coming next week in Kansas City. Between those markers, the new season is starting to feel real.
Arizona finished last season No. 2 in KenPom behind champion Michigan after reaching the Final Four for the first time in 25 years. This year, the Wildcats enter as the second-highest Big 12 team in the rankings, trailing only No.
3 Houston. The league is loaded at the top, with four teams in the top eight and five in the top 12.
Iowa State checks in at No. 6, Kansas at No. 8 and Texas Tech at No. 12, while all 16 Big 12 teams are ranked inside the top 100.
On the efficiency side, Arizona opens at No. 10 in adjusted offensive efficiency, second among Big 12 teams behind Texas Tech at No. 5.
Defensively, the Wildcats are fourth, with Houston No. 1 and Iowa State No. 2.
Last season’s Arizona team finished fifth in offense and second in defense.
Like most preseason models, these numbers are built on the assumption that every player listed on a roster will be available when the games count. That is not fully the case for Arizona right now. Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey is currently ineligible while he works through the legal system in search of a fifth year, and several other notable programs are dealing with similar questions.
The nonconference schedule gives Arizona plenty of chances to test that ranking. The Wildcats will face six top-30 opponents before league play begins, led by No.
11 UConn, which visits McKale Center on Nov. 18.
UConn lost to Michigan in last season’s NCAA title game.
Arizona opens Nov. 2 in Las Vegas against No. 27 UCLA.
The Wildcats also travel to No. 25 Auburn, meet No.
23 St. John’s in New York City and play No.
20 Arkansas in Phoenix. On the other side of the schedule, six opponents are ranked 156th or lower and are all home buy games.
In Maui, opening opponent Colorado State is ranked No. 81, while the other six possible Maui opponents fall between No. 33 and No. 68.
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