Arizona Basketball Is Quietly Dominating, and the Numbers Prove It
If you’ve been watching Arizona this season and thinking, “This team looks different,” you’re not wrong. The Wildcats aren’t just winning games-they’re dictating the terms, throttling opponents with a level of consistency that’s hard to ignore. And thanks to some revealing data from college basketball metrics expert Evan Miyakawa, we now have a clearer picture of just how dominant Arizona has been, especially when it comes to one of the sport’s most telling momentum metrics: the kill shot.
What’s a Kill Shot?
In basketball terms, a “kill shot” is when a team goes on a 10-0 scoring run or better. It’s a momentum swing that can flip a game on its head-and the best teams tend to be the ones who deliver them often while rarely being on the receiving end.
Arizona is doing both.
According to Miyakawa’s latest data, the Wildcats are tied for 12th nationally in kill shots per game (1.18), right alongside Duke and Georgia. But here’s the kicker-they’re also tied for third in the country in kill shots allowed, giving up just 0.06 per game.
Only Florida and Stephen F. Austin have been better in that category, and those two are the only programs that haven’t allowed a single kill shot all season.
Arizona has allowed just one kill shot all year. That’s it.
Winning the Momentum Battle
When you zoom out and look at the margin-kill shots delivered versus kill shots allowed-Arizona is sitting in elite company. They’re third in the country with a +1.12 kill shot differential per game. Michigan leads the way with a +1.56 margin, but the Wildcats are right in the mix with the nation’s best when it comes to controlling the game’s biggest swings.
In total, Arizona has logged 20 kill shots so far this season, tied for 11th nationally with Duke and Georgia. Gonzaga leads the pack with 29, but Arizona’s consistency on both ends of the kill shot spectrum-delivering runs while rarely conceding them-is what makes their profile so impressive.
And they’re not alone in elite territory. Arizona, St.
Louis, Utah Valley, and Yale are all tied for third nationally with just one kill shot allowed on the season. That’s rare air.
Scoring Margin Speaks Volumes
The Wildcats’ ability to dominate stretches of games is translating into lopsided results. Arizona ranks sixth in the nation in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 22.2 points per game.
Only a handful of teams are even close to that level of dominance, and St. Louis currently leads the nation with a 31.8-point scoring margin.
That kind of consistency isn’t easy to come by-especially in a power conference.
A Historic Run
Arizona’s 89-82 win over Arizona State on Wednesday may not have been a blowout, but it did cap off an impressive stretch. Before that rivalry win, the Wildcats had rattled off 11 straight victories by double digits. That streak came up just short of the Big XII record of 12, set by Texas during the 2009-10 season.
For Arizona, it was the longest such streak since the 1997-98 season-a year when the Wildcats returned their entire National Championship roster from the previous season and finished 30-5, making a run to the West Regional Final.
That’s the kind of historic company this year’s team is keeping.
Adjusted for the Competition
One of the more telling metrics in Miyakawa’s database is “opponent adjust,” which evaluates how teams perform relative to expectations based on the quality of their opponents. In that category, Arizona ranks 16th nationally and fourth among power conference teams. Only Nebraska, Michigan State, and Virginia are ahead of them.
That means Arizona isn’t just beating up on weaker teams. They’re outperforming expectations against legitimate competition, which adds even more weight to their overall profile.
Bottom Line
Arizona is doing what elite teams do: controlling the tempo, delivering knockout runs, and keeping opponents from ever getting comfortable. The numbers back it up, but so does the eye test. Whether it’s their ability to string together dominant stretches or their refusal to let opponents build momentum, this Wildcats team is proving itself as one of the most balanced and dangerous squads in the country.
If you're not paying attention to Arizona yet, it might be time to start.