What the Wildcats lost when Brandon Ashley was lost for the year

Arizona currently ranks No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency on kenpom.com and has the personnel to remain the top five. Its offense, which ranks 35th, is
What the Wildcats lost when Brandon Ashley was lost for the year
What the Wildcats lost when Brandon Ashley was lost for the year /

Brandon Ashley's improvement offensively was key to the Wildcats' fast start to the season.
Brandon Ashley's improvement offensively was key to the Wildcats' fast start to the season :: Christian Peteson/Getty Images

Arizona currently ranks No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency on kenpom.com and has the personnel to remain the top five. Its offense, which ranks 35th, is due for a drop -- a drop that could reclassify the 'Cats from "title co-favorites" to "offensively challenged contender." Great-D, decent-O teams can make Final Fours -- 2010 Butler and 2006 LSU had efficiency profiles similar to where Arizona might be headed -- but face longer odds of cutting down nets.


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Luke Winn
LUKE WINN

Luke Winn joined Sports Illustrated in 2002 as a web producer and is now a senior writer. He primarily covers college basketball, but has written about baseball, the Olympics and more.