Arizona men’s basketball picked to win final Pac-12 season

Considering how much it has dominated the league since joining 45 years ago, it only makes sense that Arizona is expected to take down the title in the final season of the Pac-12 Conference.

League media has tabbed the Wildcats first in the preseason poll, garnering 18 of 26 first-place votes with second-place USC and third-place UCLA getting four apiece.

It’s the first time since 2017-18 the UA has been picked to win the conference. UCLA was the preseason choice the previous three seasons, with Oregon getting the nod the two seasons before that.

Arizona, which landed four players on the preseason all-conference team, has won 17 regular-season Pac-10/12 titles including most recently in 2021-22. That’s second-most all-time behind UCLA, with 32, but since the UA joined the league in 1978-79 the Bruins have only won 12 times.

The Wildcats also have the most Pac-10/12 conference tournament championships, with nine, including the last two.