Arizona men’s basketball picked 5th in preseason Big 12 coaches poll, Caleb Love named to all-conference team

During its residence run in the Pac-10 and, eventually, the Pac-12, Arizona was routinely found at or near the top of preseason projections. When it wasn’t among the top four, though, that was often an indication that the Wildcats weren’t expected to be that good.

In the Big 12, that just means you’re one of many really good teams in a stacked conference.

Arizona has been picked to finish fifth in its initial season in the Big 12 Conference, according to the league’s coaches. The Wildcats did earn one first-place vote, while 14 of the other 15 went to either preseason No. 1 Kansas (nine) or runner-up Houston (five).

t is the lowest Arizona has been predicted to finish in its league since 2020-21, when the Wildcats were picked fifth in the Pac-12 and ended up in that exact spot in Sean Miller’s final season. That UA team self-imposed a postseason ban, sitting out both the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments and then making a coaching change.

The lowest the UA has been picked since Tommy Lloyd took over was in 2021-22, his debut season, when it was tabbed to finish in a tie for fourth only to run away with the regular-season and conference tourney titles. That was the 17^th of 18 Pac-10/12 regular season championships for the Wildcats, who also won the final title last season.

Arizona is the only one of the former Pac-12 schools joining the Big 12 to be in the top 11 of the preseason poll. ASU is 12^th, while Colorado (15^th) and Utah (16^th) bring up the rear.

Eight Big 12 teams went to the NCAA tourney last year, with four earning top-4 seeds including Kansas, which tied for fifth in the regular season. Most preseason national polls have five Big 12 schools in their top 10 and the same is expected when the Associated Press drops its preseason media poll on Monday.

The Big 12 also released a preseason all-conference team, with UA senior guard Caleb Love making the First Team. No Arizona players were chosen for preseason individual awards, with Kansas’s Hunter Dickinson chosen as Player of the Year, Coleman Hawkins (Kansas State) and Jeremy Roach (Baylor) picked as co-Newcomers of the Year and Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe Freshman of the Year.

Big 12 men’s basketball Media Day is scheduled for Oct. 23 in Kansas City.