T.J. McConnell believes few anticipated his #2 Wildcats (21-1, 8-1) to be this highly rated this late into the season.

"No one expected us to do as well as we have this year; we kind of just let our play do the talking," McConnell told ESPN today. "People can write what they want and say that we're not a national championship team, but we're going to work hard every day and they can't take that away from us."

The 6-foot-3 transfer from Duquesne must have missed the preseason rankings, which slotted Arizona at #6. Even so, the Wildcats have exceeded expectations slightly, mostly because of his unexpected impact. Though his numbers aren't overwhelming (7.5 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.9 rpg 1.9 spg) the offensive polish, tough defense, and unselfish play he adds transcends those numbers.

Plus, Arizona simply has too many weapons for their point guard to be averaging more than eight points. Every starter/regular player has increased his scoring from last season by at least three points besides, of course, freshmen Aaron Gordon and Rhondae Hollis Jefferson. In that group is sophomore Brandon Ashley, who went from 7.5 ppg as a freshman to 11.5 this season. He's now likely out for the year.

"It's a huge loss for us not to have Brandon for the rest of the season," center Kaleb Tarczewski (6.6 to 9.7 ppg) said. "But we still feel that even without him, we still have a great team."

The Wildcats will play their first game without Ashely and their first following a loss after the sophomore forward left Saturday's game against California within the first three minutes when they face Oregon (15-6, 3-6) tonight at 9:00 pm EST on ESPN.

Behind a 13 game win streak to start the year, Oregon had also been in the game of defying expectations, before they were kicked out following five straight losses in the Pac-12. They've recovered slightly as of late, with two wins in their last three including a 27 point lambasting of Washington State (9-13, 2-8).

The spread favors Arizona by eleven. Tired of the questions about Ashley and sick of playing close games, I think the Wildcats issue a first class blowout tonight.

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Regular season: 11-14 (need a win here to improve my own NCAA tournament chances)

Picking Schedule:

Butler @ Creighton: L (picked Butler, +10.5)

UConn @ Memphis: L (picked Memphis, -7.5)

Depaul @ Villanova: W (picked Villanova, -17.5)

Pittsburg @ Syracuse: L (picked Syracuse, -5.5)

Creighton @ Villanova: L (picked Villanova, -6.5)

Baylor @ Kansas: W (picked Baylor, + 10.5)

Indiana @ Michigan State: L (picked Michigan State, -12)

Iowa @ Michigan: L (picked Iowa, + 1.5)

Colorado @ Arizona: W (picked Colorado, + 14.5)

Illinois @ Ohio State: W (picked Illinois, + 11)

Michigan @ Michigan State: W (picked Michigan, + 4.5)

Villanova @ Marquette: W (picked Villanova, -3)

Utah @ Arizona: W (picked Utah, + 15)

Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State: W (picked Oklahoma, + 4.5)

Villanova @ Georgetown: L (picked Villanova, -6.5)

Michigan State @ Iowa: W (picked Michigan State, + 5)

St. John's @ Creighton: W (picked St. John's, + 12)

Iowa State @ Kansas: L (picked Iowa State, + 8.5)

Syracuse @ Wake Forest: L (picked Syracuse, -10)

Purdue @ Michigan: L (picked Michigan, -12)

Florida @ Mississippi State: W (picked Miss. State, + 15)

Duke @ Syracuse: L (picked Syracuse, -3)

Xavier @ Villanova: L (picked Xavier, + 10)

Nebraska @ Michigan: L (picked Nebraska, + 13)

Boston College @ Virginia: L (picked Virginia, -13)