Arizona is already sitting near the top of the national picture before the season even tips.
In KenPom’s preseason rankings, released Sunday, Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats open at No. 5 overall and No. 2 in the Big 12, trailing only Duke and Florida at the top of the board. Houston and Illinois check in at No. 3 and No. 4, while Iowa State, Michigan State, Kansas, Alabama and Texas fill out the rest of the top 10. Texas Tech lands at No. 12, giving the Big 12 five teams in KenPom’s top 12 - more than any other conference by a wide margin.
That kind of placement fits the way Arizona enters Lloyd’s sixth season in Tucson. The Wildcats are replacing plenty from last year’s group, including star freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, along with Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley. But the program is still loaded with talent, and the new-look roster has enough firepower to keep Arizona in the hunt at the very top of the sport.
The headliners returning are center Mo Krivas and forward Ivan Kharchenkov, a pair Lloyd can build around as he chases another big season. Both are expected to be in the mix for All-Big 12 and All-American recognition.
Arizona also reloaded around them with a strong group of additions. That starts with 5-star freshman Caleb Holt, who is widely projected as a top three pick in the NBA draft, and continues with transfer point guards Derek Dixon and JJ Mandaquit. Clemson fifth-year transfer RJ Godfrey is in the mix as well, though he is battling the NCAA for eligibility.
Even with the turnover, the Wildcats have the look of a team built to contend for the Big 12 title and a high seed in March. Last season, Arizona was one rough first half against Michigan away from reaching the national championship game, and this roster has enough size, skill and depth to chase another deep run.
The Big 12’s overall strength shows up clearly in the numbers, too. KenPom’s NetRtg data lists the SEC as the nation’s top conference, with the Big 12 right behind it despite placing five teams in the top 12. Every Big 12 program is projected inside KenPom’s top 100, and the conference joins every power league except the ACC in that category.
The depth is striking. After the top-tier group of Houston, Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech, there’s a noticeable drop before Cincinnati at No.
31, BYU at No. 33 and Baylor at No. 35.
West Virginia, Oklahoma State and TCU all come next in the top 50, leaving 75% of the league inside the top 50 overall. The five teams outside that range are UCF at No.
57, Arizona State at No. 71, Utah at No.
84, Colorado at No. 86 and Kansas State at No. 96.
Arizona’s path toward another Final Four begins Tuesday, Oct. 13, when it hosts San Francisco in an exhibition game at 6:00 PM PT. The Dons are ranked No. 163 in KenPom, and the game will be shown on ESPN+.
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The defense and special teams did their part too, giving the Wildcats the kind of complementary performance that travels. JayVion Cole came up with a big forced fumble, and punter Chase Ridley helped pin the Mountaineers deep enough to make every possession harder, leaving Arizona with a result that felt sturdy even before the full picture of its passing game is sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
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Arizona is already being treated like a national contender before the season has even tipped off, at least if Ken Pomeroys preseason numbers are any indication. In his 2026-27 Division I mens basketball rankings, Arizona checked in at No. 5, giving the Wildcats an early stamp of credibility in a Big 12 field that looks strong from top to bottom. The projection also comes with the usual preseason caveat: it assumes every rostered player is eligible, even though some pieces, including Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey, are not currently available.
The ranking only sharpens the attention on what waits early for Tommy Lloyds team, because Arizonas nonconference slate is not built for easing into the year. UConn and UCLA are already on the schedule, and both bring the kind of profile that can either validate a lofty preseason spot or expose how much work still needs to be done. For a Wildcats team carrying national expectations, those early tests figure to say plenty about where Arizona really stands once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]