Can Any Team in the Pac-12 Stop the Arizona Wildcats?

Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

I wasn’t a believer in the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats‘ ability to go undefeated for the rest of the college basketball season at the start of Pac-12 conference play. I wasn’t a believer when they almost lost a game to a three-point dependent, defensively incompetent UCLA Bruins squad. However, now I am; the Wildcats have the best chance of any team in college basketball of going undefeated after dismantling the upset-minded Colorado Buffaloes.

Nick Johnson once again had a fantastic game for the Wildcats with 18 points and was aided by double-digit performances by Brandon Ashley and Aaron Gordon. Colorado played well enough to put up a fight, but they couldn’t overcome their 16 turnovers despite a double-double from Josh Scott. Arizona won by 12, 69-57.

There isn’t a team in the Pac-12 that has the same talent level as the Wildcats. The Oregon Ducks are far from the team we thought they were at the beginning of the season. UCLA is struggling to hold onto a potential 2014 NCAA Tournament bid, Colorado got absolutely torched in their first match-up with Arizona and the California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal and Utah Utes would require a miracle to pull off an upset.

All Arizona has to do is wade through a mediocre Pac-12 schedule and they will not only finish with an undefeated record but also the No. 1 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are a clear National Championship threat and should be considered one of the favorites to win it all as well.

Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Around the Web

ZergNet