Talented Cats team faces tough competition in first year in stacked Big 12

• Arizona is ranked 10th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 9th in the Coaches Poll, which sounds pretty good until you see how many Big 12 rivals are still ranked ahead of them. 
• Kansas is the top team in the country to start the 2024-25 season, followed by Houston (4), Iowa State (5) and Baylor (8) in the AP poll. Cincinnati is ranked 20th. 

Catch up quick: Under head coach Tommy Lloyd, the Cats earned a top-two seed in March Madness for the past three years, though Arizona hasn't made it past the Sweet 16 since he took over the program. 

One big star: All eyes will be on shooting guard Caleb Love, the 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year, who's playing his second season in Tucson after transferring from North Carolina. 

• Love is one of six players named to the AP's preseason All-America team, tied for fifth with Duke's Cooper Flagg. 
• He's also one of 50 men's basketball players on the preseason Naismith Trophy watch list. 

Zoom in: Small forward KJ Lewis and power forward Trey Townsend, who transferred to Arizona after a huge March Madness with Oakland, are also on preseason watch lists. 

• ​​Center Motiejus Krivas was productive off the bench last season, but he'll have big shoes to fill this year as the likely starter following Oumar Ballo's departure. 
• Freshman forward Carter Bryant has also been turning heads in the preseason. 

What's next: The Cats open their season Monday night in Tucson against Canisius. 

• Arizona has a couple of must-watch games on its pre-conference schedule — a Nov. 22 match against Duke at McKale Memorial Center, and a Dec. 14 showdown with former Pac-12 rival UCLA at Footprint Center.