Arizona Wildcats National College Basketball Championship Odds and Analysis

Tommy Lloyd has proven to be a home run hire. The second-year head coach has the Arizona Wildcats sitting among the West Coast elite with the likes of UCLA, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary’s. They’re out to redeem a disappointing NCAA Tournament in 2022 with a deep run this season.

At +1500, Arizona has the seventh-shortest odds of winning the National Championship on the FanDuel Sportsbook. Here’s a look at their chances and various odds @ FanDuel:

Arizona plays an entertaining brand of basketball that should attract viewership during the NCAA Tournament. For those who may not get a chance to tune in to the Wildcats on the East Coast, they are always in for a track meet. They have the sixth-fastest pace in the nation and don’t lose efficiency in their franticness either.

It is the brand of basketball that Lloyd favors, and it’s proven effective in each of his first two seasons. His roster construction supports the playstyle, with guards who can push the pace and big men who can keep up.

Arizona boasts a 56.5 effective field goal percentage, the sixth-highest in the nation, and has shown they can rack up points quickly. They eclipsed the century mark in points scored in three of their first four games of the season. The ‘Cats are also incredibly balanced in how they score.

When looking at three-pointers, two-pointers, and free-throws, the national average distribution of points is 30.9 percent, 50.8 percent, and 18.3 percent. Arizona’s distribution of points is 31.1 percent from three, 50.1 percent from two, and 18.9 percent from the charity stripe. This team has an incredibly balanced, fast-paced attack that can be a nightmare to defend.

This is where you can start poking holes in any sort of National Championship talk for the Wildcats. They have shown on many occasions that their defense can be porous, especially to close out conference play. They allowed over 80 points to Arizona State, USC, and UCLA in their final three games.

If they cannot hold tournament-caliber teams to under 80 points, it leaves a tiny margin for error on the offensive end. One poor shooting night, and we could bid the ‘Cats adieu before the Final Four again.

Poor defenses typically struggle to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament, which makes it scary to put your faith in Arizona. Until they can improve on that end of the court, we could see them in danger early in their region for a second consecutive year.

Last year’s NCAA Tournament performance was lackluster, and there isn’t much to point to on this team that feels improved from 2022. Sell on Arizona with the expectation that they get picked off before the Final Four.