SAN FRANCISCO — Since he joined what was then the Pac-10 before the 2009-10 season, Sean Miller has never had an Arizona Wildcats team finish lower than fourth place.
Not even in his first season, when the Wildcats didn’t make the postseason, nor in their rebuilding season of 2011-12. In both of those seasons, UA finished fourth, while they have won or tied for the league title four times during Miller’s tenure.
History could change this season, however, and Miller is bracing for the lower expectations.
Miller said a straw poll of the league’s coaches in May placed Arizona sixth, and he said at Arizona’s McKale Center media day on Oct. 1 that this season almost compared with starting a new program.
The Wildcats will be replacing their entire starting lineup, but another reason for Arizona’s lower expectations is that a reloaded Oregon team appears to lead a group of programs that are challenging for the league’s top four spots, which earn coveted first-round byes in the conference tournament.
“I think Oregon stands out,†Miller said. “They have a lot of talent, both coming in but also returning. (Ducks coach) Dana Altman is, I think, one of college basketball’s best coaches. They improve as the year goes on and the combination of their freshmen plus their returners really puts them in as the class of our conference.
“But there’s a number of programs that I think will be very good — USC, Colorado, UCLA, Arizona State, Stanford. ... And Washington, for example, based on their experience, how difficult their zone defense is to prepare for, and the players that thrived a year ago in their system.â€
All that is not to forget about Utah, which has also not finished lower than fourth since 2014. But the Utes might be picked lower this season after losing four starters from last season.
“Utah is obviously very well-coached,†Miller said of Utah’s Larry Krystkowiak. They have “always a difficult place to play, and from one year to the next, Larry does a great job.â€
The Pac-12 at media day in San Francisco on Thursday released its preseason media poll. Here are the results (with total points, and first-place votes in parentheses):
1. Oregon 288 (16)
2. UCLA 264 (6)
3. Washington 249 (2)
4. Arizona 205 (1)
5. USC 203
6. ASU 165
7. Colorado 161
8. Utah 122
9. Stanford 109
10. OSU 102
11. Cal 45
12. WSU 37
This was the Star’s ballot in the Pac-12’s media poll, with some detail about each team for the upcoming season:
