Wildcats are among the top favorites in Pac-12 basketball betting as the season begins.
Coach Tommy Lloyd is guiding the Arizona Wildcats as they enter their first season with promising college basketball betting odds to capture the 2022 Pac-12 regular season conference championship.
This demonstrates the success of a team that has a conference record of 29-27 over the last three seasons, but now must overcome the task of replacing most of its scoring under the leadership of a new coach.
After collaborating with Mark Few to establish a dominant team at Gonzaga for more than two decades, Lloyd transitioned to Tucson.
He replaces Sean Miller, who was fired by Arizona after guiding the Wildcats to three Pac-12 championships and Elite Eight appearances during his 12-year tenure in Tucson.
Miller became involved in the FBI probe of college basketball when his loyal assistant coach, Emanuel ‘Book’ Richardson, was charged and confessed to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Richardson ended up serving a three-month prison term as a result.
The first game of Lloyd and his team’s season will take place on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Arizona time on the Pac-12 Network, with Arizona playing against Northern Arizona. This marks the school’s inaugural college basketball game since sports betting was legalized in Arizona.
Arizona is considered one of the contenders for the Pac-12 title in 2021.
The Wildcats are the favored team to win the 2022 Pac-12 Championship among the top sports betting apps in Arizona.
The Wildcats are ranked third in odds to win the Pac-12 regular season title at FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona, with odds of +600. At Caesars Sportsbook Arizona, DraftKings Arizona, and TwinSpires Sportsbook Arizona, the Wildcats are either listed as fourth best or tied for fourth best, with odds ranging from +650 to +700.
On every sportsbook, Arizona is ranked below UCLA and Oregon, the top contenders for the conference title.
The Wildcats have been ranked fourth in national championship odds among Pac-12 schools on all five sites, with TwinSpires Sportsbook Arizona, BetMGM Arizona, and Caesars Sportsbook Arizona all giving them odds of +5000.
Both DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona and FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona are offering the Wildcats at +6000 odds to win the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
The operators’ view of Arizona matches that of the Pac-12 media, who anticipated the Wildcats to tie with Oregon State for 4th place in the conference in their preseason poll, placing them behind UCLA, Oregon, and USC.
Top Games in Arizona to Keep an Eye On
The Wildcats’ 2021-22 season will kick off with non-conference games against NAU, Texas-Rio Grande Valley, North Dakota State, Wichita State, and Sacramento State before diving into Pac-12 action against Washington on Dec. 2.
Arizona will play against Oregon State in Corvallis on December 5, then have a home game against Wyoming three days later. The non-conference schedule will wrap up with away games against 11th-ranked Illinois and 18th-ranked Tennessee, with home games against Northern Colorado and California Baptist in between.
Arizona has a tough stretch of Pac-12 games ahead, facing USC, UCLA, and ASU on the road from Dec. 30 to Jan. 8. These matchups will be a true test to see if the Wildcats are legitimate contenders for the conference title.
Lloyd’s team faces a tough final stretch of the season, including home matchups against Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, and Cal, and road games against Utah and Colorado in the last three weeks.
If the Wildcats can overcome the obstacles in their path, they are likely to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.
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Author
For more than seven years, Peterson Christopher has been reporting on sports and sports betting in Arizona. He has gained experience working for ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News. Currently, he serves as the lead writer at yengols.com.
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