ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 3 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
3. Arizona Wildcats
For a program that’s made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, it’s difficult to assume the Wildcats or coach Sean Miller were prepared for a down year.
Considering the on-court losses Miller was tasked to replace while simultaneously dealing with a federal investigation, Arizona’s head coach deserves some serious credit for having a 4-0 record through the season’s first few weeks.
After three blowout wins over Houston Baptist, Cal Poly and UTEP, the Maui Invitational would be a good early indicator of how the new-look Wildcats would fare. UA surged back in the second half against Iowa State to prevail 71-66.
They gave No. 3 Gonzaga all a good fight on Tuesday before falling off late to set up a third-place game with No. 8 Auburn. The Wildcats will get a crack at two top-10 teams in as many days and will finish no worse than fourth in Maui.
Sophomore guard Brandon Randolph has made a big jump from his first season in Tucson, leading the team in scoring at over 16 points per game with help from fellow backcourt teammate Brandon Williams. The true freshman is second on the ‘Cats in scoring while his five assists per game lead UA.
In the frontcourt, forward Chase Jeter has seamlessly transitioned to Miller’s style, roaming the block as an effective low-post player. He’s got a team leading 8.3 rebounds per game to go along with 13 points per contest
Upcoming games on the road at Connecticut and Alabama also serve as good evaluations of how the Wildcats stack up on a national scale, but in the Pac-12, it seems like Miller isn’t ready to have the reigns taken away just yet.