After being widely regarded as the best conference in the sport for the last couple of years, the Big 12 took a step back from the SEC this past season. They still performed quite well, getting seven teams in the NCAA tournament, with four making the Sweet 16, and they also had Houston represent the conference in the national championship game. With the SEC not looking like they will slow down and other major conferences making big moves, let's see how the Big 12 stacks up in an effort to reclaim the top conference in the sport.

Arizona had a very up and down season last year. With a good amount of preseason hype coming in at #10 in the preseason rankings, their were some lofty expectations this Caleb Love led Arizona team had to fill. They started off the season rough, at one point being under .500, but as conference play went on the got their season on the right track. Arizona ended the season at 24-13 and a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, they would eventually lose to the #1 seeded Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16

This offseason they had a lot to recoup as they lost some key pieces to either age or the draft. Head coach Tommy Lloyd did a fantastic job in the high school/foreign recruiting. The transfer portal wasn't the strongest for him but with the combo of recruiting and returning you can expect another successful season

In the high school scene they made headlines getting multiple 5-star recruits. Brayden Burries, a 6-4 guard from California and Koa Peat, a 6-8 forward from Arizona being the main players in the recruiting class. They also received commitments from 4-star forward, Dwayne Aristode, 3-star Guard, Bryce James, and international forward, Sidi Gueye.

The transfer portal was definitely not Arizona's strongest point this offseason. Multiple key losses included big man Henri Veesaar, who is going to UNC, and guard KJ Lewis, who is going to Georgetown. The other big problem with their transfer portal class besides the losses is that they have only received one commit thus far: Evan Nelson, a 6-2 Guard from Harvard.

Overall with the solid roster retention and multiple highly touted high school prospect you can expect Arizona to have another successful season and make a potential deep run in the NCAA tournament.