What is the ranking of Arizona Men’s Basketball among “Blue Blood” programs?
The NCAA men’s basketball season for 2022-23 will kick off on Nov. 7 with Arizona taking on Nicholls State at home, ushering in the second year of Tommy Lloyd’s leadership.
With 266 wins, five Pac-12 regular season titles, two Elite Eight appearances, and the production of one No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft with Deandre Ayton in 2018, now is the ideal time to contemplate the Wildcats’ standing in the sport’s hierarchy based on their impressive accomplishments over the past decade.
Despite the previous attempts under coach Sean Miller and during Lloyd’s first season, the Wildcats have still not made it to the Final Four.
Lloyd’s group is among the top contenders for Arizona sports betting in 2023, as BetMGM is giving the Wildcats +2000 odds to win the championship, placing them in 10th position.
Arizona last reached the Final Four in 2001, making it to the championship game before falling to Duke 82-72.
After those instances, the Wildcats have suffered losses to Kansas in 2003, Illinois in 2005, UConn in 2011, and Wisconsin in both 2014 and 2015 in the Elite Eight games.
What qualities define a blue blood?
The Wildcats’ failure to reach the Final Four kept them from being named among the current college basketball “blue bloods” on yengols.com’s list.
Since 2012, we have assessed various factors of success in college basketball to define a set criteria that a program must satisfy to be recognized as a “blue blood” program.
Points were awarded to each program based on their performance in different categories: 10 points for a championship win, 5 points for a championship appearance, 4 points for a Final Four appearance, 1 point for an NCAA Tournament appearance, and 1 point for a Top 25 recruiting class.
To establish itself as a new college basketball blue blood, a program must earn a minimum of 35 points from 2012 to 2022.
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Wildcats on the Outside Peering In
Arizona’s point total of 17 was due to their failure to progress beyond the Elite Eight, despite a decade of strong recruiting and seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
In the end, the Wildcats were not ranked in the top 15 among the top college basketball programs, joining teams like Ohio State, Florida, and Texas Tech.
Based on our criteria, the top college basketball teams that reached the 35-point threshold to be classified as “blue bloods” were North Carolina, Villanova, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, and Louisville.
The Wildcats achieved the highest point total of all schools that have never made it to the Final Four.
The Wildcats’ attempt to establish themselves as a “blue blood” program fell short due to a lack of success in Final Four appearances, NCAA title games, and championship seasons.
Lloyd and his team are focused on ending Arizona’s 21-year Final Four and 26-year title droughts this season, with a squad that has been ranked 17th in the Associated Press preseason poll.
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Author
Peterson Christopher has been reporting on sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, gaining experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News. He currently serves as the primary writer at yengols.com.
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