Wildcats Surge in Big 12 Race as Other Teams from West Lag

> Dane Miller's weekly column on the 2024-25 Big 12 men's basketball season

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  By Dane Miller, SuperWest Sports

   January 10, 2025

Arizona men’s basketball started the season as slow as any Wildcat team in recent memory, but that changed once conference play began.

By contrast, the other Big 12 teams from the West—Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, and Utah—have not fared as well after capping their nonconference slates.

Each week in this column, I delve into teams and situations that could impact the race, focusing on the five teams in our coverage area.

This week, I provide a quick look-in for each team at this point in the season.

Arizona (3-0, 9-5)

The Wildcats have won back-to-back road games against ranked conference opponents. Tommy Lloyd’s team is finding ways to win when Caleb Love struggles.

The two Quad 1 victories have moved Arizona off the Bubble. At 3-0 in the Big 12, the expectations in Tucson have been raised.

This week’s homestand against UCF and Baylor puts UA in position to start Conference play 5-0.

Arizona State (1-2, 10-4)

Bobby Hurley has Arizona State in contention for the NCAA Tournament.

With nonconference wins over New Mexico, Grand Canyon, and St. Mary’s the Sun Devils just need to survive the onslaught of the Big 12 schedule.

As long as ASU wins its conference games at home, it should remain in the projected field. But if they drop games in Tempe, the Sun Devils could miss the Tournament.

BYU (1-2, 10-4)

The Cougars started conference play with a win over Arizona State.

But BYU has dropped its last two games and faces TCU on the road this Saturday. The Horned Frogs are 1-2 in the Big 12 and undefeated at home.

BYU lost to Texas Tech in Provo earlier this week and needs to steal one on the road.

Colorado (0-3, 9-5)

The Buffs are winless in the Big 12. With three straight losses to open league play, Colorado’s outlook is grim.

Tad Boyle’s team played Iowa State reasonably close. But with losses to Arizona State and UCF on the road, it’s hard to envision CU winning many conference games away from Boulder.

This week’s homestand against West Virginia and Cincinnati are must-win games.

Utah (0-3, 8-6)

Craig Smith and the Utes are still looking for their first win in the Big 12.

Baylor beat Utah by 25, Texas Tech won by 28, and Iowa State won by 23. That’s a worrying sign for the state of the program in its new league. Those are three traditional Big 12 schools that have blown out the Utes.

This Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma State is pivotal. A loss would show just how far down Utah is in the Big 12’s pecking order.

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Dane Miller

Miller covers College Basketball and College Football as well as Formula 1 racing as a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor for SuperWest Sports.