Cat Nips: Arizona Wildcats get love on national stage with big games ahead

Plus, the women end their streak, you can be part of a new Arizona Wildcats fan council and gymnastics takes down ASU!

Trending up, Wildcats look to stay steady on the road

In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.

The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team struggled to grab a top-tier win. To be fair, the Wildcats really only had one opportunity for a top-10 win earlier this season when it took on then No. 12 Duke, who currently sits at No. 2 in the country. The early season losses also ejected them out of the top-25 and resulted in no power conference wins before conference play.

Fast forward to Monday and a shot that was brought to Tucson with Love and Arizona has itself a top-5 win, is 4-6 in quad 1 games with the next three (at ASU, at BYU, vs Texas Tech) providing an opportunity for the team to vault to a winning record against quad 1 opponents. ESPN college basketball analysts Jimmy Dykes and Fran Fraschilla touched on how Arizona could do in the tournament in a call with the media this week.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Arizona as a 5 seed playing out of Seattle in the Midwest bracket with a possible matchup with Wisconsin in the second round, who the Wildcats lost to in non-conference play earlier this season. Lunardi has ASU as one of the first four out, just in case you wanted to know.

Currently, the analytics love Arizona despite not being ranked in the top 25. Kenpom has the Wildcats at 15, EvanMiya at 17 and Haslametrics at 13. If the Wildcats don’t stumble, beginning this Saturday at ASU, they should find themselves in the top 25 and with a strong opportunity to build quality wins before their next big matchup, and I do mean BIG, against No. 6 Houston at home.

The next 3 out of 4 are on the road wrapping up with a road matchup at Kansas State and in the Big 12 nothing is ever easy, so it is imperative the Wildcats keep their focus and keep trending in the right direction.

Unfortunately, not all news was great this week as Alijah Arenas, son of former Arizona basketball legend Gilbert Arenas, chose to sign with USC over the Wildcats. It hurts from a legacy perspective but Tommy Lloyd is still in the mix for standouts Braden Burries and Koa Peat, both of whom are in the top 15 in every recruiting ranking system.

Hear our guys Kevin Thomas and Damon Fairall break it down.

Ladies can’t get 4-in-a-row

The Arizona women’s basketball team is on the outside looking in according to ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme. Right now, Creme has the Wildcats as one of the first four out. However, despite the women getting a huge win at home over No. 16 West Virginia, their loss to Utah on Friday once again puts them in peril. They’ve have the next 17 days to make a move against quality competition, or else it could be over quickly.

Arizona has upcoming matchups at Colorado (proj. next four out), ASU, at No. 24 Oklahoma State (proj. 7-seed), and at home vs No.9 TCU (proj. 2-seed). After that, it’ll be very hard for the Wildcats to get quality wins that would move the needle until the conference tournament.

The last four games of the season feature bottom dwellers in the conference, BYU, Houston, Texas Tech and ASU, all who have a combined seven wins in conference play so far. Couple that with a very low level non-conference slate that includes a loss at Big Sky state rival Northern Arizona and WAC state rival Grand Canyon at home, and you quickly realize why the Wildcats are in a tough spot in desperate need of big wins. Stay tuned!

Notables

🚨 PJC signe en Lituanie

Le lietuvos Rytas vient d’engager Parker Jackson-Cartwright jusqu’à la fin de la saison !

Le reverra t-on en NBL ? #NBL25 pic.twitter.com/6ppgsfAMDP

— NBL France (@NBL_France) January 30, 2025

• NOT FEELIN’ THE BREAK: Former Arizona point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright reportedly turned down the largest contract the New Zealand Breakers had ever offered due to treatment he felt was unjustified, opting to sign with Rytas Vilnius BC in Lithuania for the rest of the season. Jackson-Cartwright was ruled out for New Zealand due to a rib injury but news of his move is now official. He ended his NBL season averaging 18.9 points, 6.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as he now teams up with former Wildcat Azuolas Tubelis who is averaging 12.6ppg and 6.3 rpg for one of the top teams in Europe.
• CLIMBING THE RANKINGS: Arizona gymnastics defeated ASU Sunday with a season high 196.650 score and season highs in vault, bars and beams. Senior Emily Mueller also came away with Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honors, the first conference gymnast of the week award since 2012 when Aubree Cristello received it in the Pac 12. Currently, the Wildcats rank 20th in the Road to Nationals rankings as they get set for a matchup with Denver on Friday. You can watch that on ESPN+.
• NEW LEAGUE, WHO DIS? Former Arizona softball standouts Taylor McQuillan and Dejah Mulipola were drafted into the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) on Wednesday. Both were top-10 selections with McQuillan drafted eighth by the Bandits and Mulipola tenth to the Volts. UA softball legends Jennie Finch and Jennie Dalton-Hill will also play roles in the league, with Finch being an advisor and Dalton-Hill the General Manager of the Bandits.
• CONFERENCE NON-REALIGNMENT? It may not seem like much on the surface, but ESPN picking up the option on the ACC until 2036 is a rather big deal. If the deal had not been opted in by February 1st, it would’ve concluded in 2027, opening the door for teams like Florida State, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina to jump to a different conference, most likely the SEC or Big Ten. Seemingly, this means the next big window for movement wouldn’t be until 2031 when the Big 12 and Big Ten TV deals end according to Yahoo sports college football insider Ross Dellenger. This may provide a calm period of sorts, well, until Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark finds a way to poach UConn.
• WAY TO EARLY BIG 12 FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS: ESPN picked Utah to win the Big 12 championship next season while FanDuel had ASU and K-State as the co-favorites to win the conference. Arizona had the lowest odds to win the conference at +6500 according to FanDuel.
• OTHER BETTING ODDS: The other lines for teams on the bet365 app are Arizona men’s basketball: Natty at +5000, Final Four at +1200 and Big 12 winner at +900. Arizona women’s basketball has +40000 odds to win the whole thing…may the odds be ever in your favor!
• ONE LAST THING: Arizona Athletics wants you to help them improve the fan experience. They are putting together the first Fan Advisory Council consisting of up to 16 members. They will provide feedback to make the gameday experience better and the council will consist of students, alumni, donors, staff and season ticket holders. The council is expected to meet up to four times throughout the year and will get a look behind the scenes to understand all the logistics, opportunities, and limitations to come up with a more well rounded plan. You can apply here.