Arizona basketball: The Oregon Ducks are the “team to beat” in the Pac-12, says Sean Miller

The Pac-12 Conference preseason media poll was released Friday and the Oregon Ducks came out on top, leading the way with 320 points and 23 first-place votes.

Only one other team — the Arizona Wildcats — received first-place votes, and they received just four, making Oregon far and away the favorite to win the conference.

It’s the first time in the 28-year history of the poll that Oregon has been selected to win the Pac-12, and Arizona head coach Sean Miller believes it’s justified.

“I definitely see Oregon as the team to beat,” he said at a recent press conference. “They were a one-seed last year, they were really good. They followed our path almost from where we were two years ago and three years ago where they were in the game in the West to go to the Final Four and Oklahoma beat them, but to think about what they did as a team and with the returning players that they have, they’re battled-tested, they’ve experienced success and no doubt they’re going to be a great team.”

The Ducks won the Pac-12 in 2015-16, finishing with a 31-7 overall record and a 14-4 conference record, and they return several key players from a season ago.

Three Ducks that averaged double figures — Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey, and Chris Boucher — are back, plus role players Jordan Bell and Casey Benson return. Oregon is also adding Dylan Ennis, a transfer from Villanova that missed nearly the entire ‘15-16 season, as well as four four-star recruits.

In short, the talent is there for the Ducks, and they have a coach that knows how to maximize it.

“He's a great coach,” said Miller of Oregon head coach Dana Altman. “I think he's one of the best coaches in our game.”

Arizona is expected to be a top team in the conference, too, placing second in the preseason poll, but as of now it’s Oregon’s conference to lose.

“Oregon had an opportunity to win the National Championship last year, a 1-seed, got all the way to the Elite Eight. I think they'll be playing for that same prize this year,” Miller said at Pac-12 media day. “No question. I think with who they have returning, him as the coach, the success they had a year ago, we've gone through that. When you get to that level in March you're hungry to return, and you have a lot of confidence. I think Oregon has all the pieces to be one of college basketball's brightest teams this year.”

As a whole, Miller expects the Pac-12 to be strong from top to bottom, eventually sending several teams to the NCAA Tournament.

“I think our conference in general will be very similar to what it was a year ago,” he said. “It didn’t feel like we had seven teams in the NCAA Tournament — which is a lot — because we all lost except Oregon.

“But March a year ago could have been a special time for our conference, and I know we’ve talked about it as coaches to have a conference that gets that type of quality back to this year’s tournament and have multiple teams advance. It helps all of us, and we’re looking forward to that. There will be no easy game, every trip will be difficult.”

Arizona and Oregon only play each other once this season due to the rotating Pac-12 schedule, with that lone contest being held in Eugene on Feb. 4.

Since 2008, Arizona is the only school that has managed to repeat as the Pac-12 regular season champion, though Oregon is projected to do that this season.

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