What does this Final Four appearance mean to Arizona?
With their win over Purdue, Arizona returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2001. Future NBA all-stars and podcast hosts Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson led that 2001 team. They eventually made it to the championship game, where they lost to Shane Battier and Duke. That is their most recent appearance in the championship game and 1 of just 4 times Arizona has ever made the final.
The Wildcats have exactly 1 National Championship, thanks to the 1996-97 team that included Jason Terry, Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson, and Miles Simon. To this day, that is Arizona’s only National Championship, and it is not for lack of trying.
Out of every D1 men’s basketball team, Arizona has the 5th most wins in its entire history. The only schools ahead of them: Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Duke. That’s it. UConn, UCLA, Florida and every other school sit behind them. If we close the timeline to since their National Championship, it's a similar story. They are 6th, only behind the aforementioned schools plus Gonzaga. On top of all this, before the Elite 8, Arizona had the most wins ever in 5 years without a Final Four appearance. Now they have a Final 4 appearance.
Arizona’s journey isn’t about overcoming deficiencies. It’s about proving they belong with the elites of college basketball. For decades, they have won as many games as the best programs in the country; all they’re missing is the sheer number of titles. Each team ahead of them in wins during the shot clock era has multiple National Championships.
If the Wildcats can cross the finish line this year, they will put themselves in rare air. Only 3 teams in NCAA history have finished a season with 38 wins: 2008 Memphis with Derrick Rose, 2012 Kentucky with Anthony Davis, and 2015 Kentucky with Karl-Anthony Towns. Of those teams, only the 2012 Kentucky team won its national championship. Arizona currently has 36 wins.
With everything Tommy Lloyd has accomplished, getting over the Sweet 16 hump could be the catalyst for a return to glory and a place among the greatest teams ever.
