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There aren’t many challengers to Arizona in the Pac-12. That seems clear, at this point, in a season where both USC and UCLA have been wildly disappointing. Colorado is supposed to be one of the challengers, though; that’s what the Buffaloes’ talent-level suggests, at least. But Colorado sure didn’t look like a legitimate challenger to Arizona in the Pac-12 late Thursday when the Wildcats beat the Buffaloes 97-50 inside the McKale Center.
“We just couldn’t turn off their water once they got it started,” said Colorado sophomore guard Javon Ruffin.
That’s a fair way to put it.
Arizona created a double-digit lead not even four minutes into the game, eventually led by 50 and won by 47 while shooting 56.3% from the field and 55.0% from 3-point range. So the Wildcats are now 11-3 with four Quadrant 1 wins and just one loss falling outside of the first quadrant. They remain No. 9 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 20th consecutive day.
It seems clear that Arizona will soon win the Pac-12 for the second time in three years under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd. The question is by how many games.
One? Two? Three? Four?
For what it’s worth, KenPom.com is currently projecting Arizona to finish 17-3 in the Pac-12 and win the league by four games. If it goes down that way, if the Wildcats really only lose two more times between now and the start of the Pac-12 Tournament, they’ll likely receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in a three-year span.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
In: Miami, Nevada | Out: Utah, Colorado
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