Arizona Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from Wildcats' Season so Far

Despite some hiccups along the way, the Arizona Wildcats have proved themselves throughout the season as one of the elite teams in college basketball.

With three games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Wildcats are looking to close out the year as strongly as possible. This could include a Pac-12 title and possibly a deep run in March if things go well.

Before predicting the future, however, it's important to look back at the season and see what we have learned over the past four months of play. While this team came into the year with high expectations, the year hasn't exactly gone as predicted in a number of ways.

Here is a look at the biggest takeaways to this point in the 2014-15 season for Arizona.

While Arizona had the most efficient defense in the nation last season, the squad is actually even better on that end of the floor this year, according to KenPom.com. Kentucky and Virginia might wreck the curve, but Sean Miller's team has been excellent defensively.

One of the big differences is the rebounding, as the Wildcats allow the fewest offensive boards in college basketball.

The squad spreads the wealth in this area, with Stanley Johnson, Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kaleb Tarczewski each averaging at least five rebounds per game. In reality, it doesn't matter who brings down the board because it will help the team regardless.

What this does is limit opponents to just one shot per possession, giving them fewer opportunities to score and preventing some easy putbacks near the rim. With some teams, like Kentucky, dependent on scoring in this way, Arizona would have a big advantage by winning the battle on the glass.

This defense already had the talent to be elite, but somehow it is even better thanks to some fantastic rebounding.

This fact might change by the end of the postseason, but as of now, Arizona has shown that it doesn't need to shoot a lot from the outside to be successful.

The Wildcats run their offense from the inside out, trying to get the ball in the paint whenever possible and only shooting when left open. As a result, they rank dead last in the Pac-12 in three-point attempts per game.

Obviously, there are players on the roster who can stroke it from outside. Gabe York has had two consecutive impressive performances, while Stanley Johnson continues to keep opponents honest with his shooting. T.J. McConnell and Elliott Pitts also take about two three-point shots per game.

Still, there is no reliance on the outside shot, as the team gets just 19.5 percent of its points from threes, which ranks 339th in the nation, according to KenPom.com.

They say that if you live by the three, you die by the three. Fortunately, Arizona doesn't have to worry about this problem.

Even after a quiet start to the game against Colorado, Stanley Johnson once again showed the ability to step up when needed as he has all year long.

The freshman came into the year with high expectations and tons of pressure. Not only was he quickly placed in the starting lineup, but he was also asked to become a leader of the team and basically replace Nick Johnson on both ends of the court.

While there have been some bad games (like his 1-of-9 effort against UCLA), Johnson has stepped up to the challenge. He is leading the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game, and his all-around game has him ranked as Ken Pomeroy's No. 4 player in the nation.

He also doesn't seem likely to stick around long, as he sits at No. 5 in the latest 2015 mock draft by DraftExpress No matter how the lottery shakes out, he appears destined to be a top-10 pick.

Johnson has the size (at 6'7"), athleticism and scoring ability to really make an impact at the next level. For the time being, Arizona fans just have to hope that he can keep putting up big numbers for the rest of this season.

While Arizona has a lot of great qualities, the team's poor free-throw shooting could become a major issue heading into the NCAA tournament.

The squad has improved upon its 65.9 percent mark from a year ago, but it hasn't been too much better this season at 69.5 percent overall. Of course, a lot of this was helped by a 23-of-25 effort against Colorado on Thursday night.

This is also the only team in the current Top 10 that doesn't have a single player shooting at least 80 percent from the free-throw line (not counting Matt Korcheck's 4-of-4).

In the three losses this year, the Wildcats have been even worse from the line, shooting 42-of-68, or 61.7 percent. They were clearly able to get to the charity stripe often in each game but evidently left a lot of points on the board.

Considering that the three losses were by a combined nine points, this obviously made a big difference.

No matter what team Arizona plays in the NCAA tournament, there will likely be some close games. If the players don't hit their free throws, the squad could end up going home much earlier than anticipated.

There are some talented teams in the Pac-12, but the conference is not the best from top to bottom. Outside of Arizona, Utah is the only other team considered to be safely in the NCAA tournament at this stage.

This has led to some easy victories for the Wildcats, especially as of late. During the current five-game winning streak, every win has been by double digits, while four have been by margins of more than 20.

It seems the only team that can beat Arizona is Arizona. Each of the three losses came against inferior competition when the favorite didn't seem to be ready for the matchup.

While the squad will finally get a real challenge against a top opponent on Saturday at Utah, the lack of consistent competition is going to hurt when March Madness comes around. Arizona has only played three games all year against teams safely in the NCAA tournament field (Utah, Gonzaga and San Diego State). This relatively weak schedule could end up making the team soft and unfocused when the games matter.

When college basketball teams are faced with tough battles every week (like in this year's Big 12), the players go into each game believing that it's the most important one of the year. Although it's not their fault, the Wildcats have not been able to get the help they've needed from the rest of the league.

Sean Miller has had a lot of success in his career, but he has never reached the Final Four. This is the team that should finally get him there.

With a composed point guard, go-to scorers and a balanced offense to go along with elite defensive play, Arizona has all the ingredients needed to make a run in the postseason. If this group can play up to its potential, Arizona should at least find itself in the national semifinals.

That being said, this has become less of a goal and more of an expectation. No matter what happens in the Pac-12, any loss within the first two weeks of the NCAA tournament will be considered a disappointment in Tucson.

Although it might be more pressure than the coach or the players are used to seeing, this is what comes from success. Everyone on the squad better be prepared when March rolls around.

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