Arizona basketball picked to win Big 12 in coaches poll, Motiejus Krivas is Preseason Player of the Year

Big 12 men’s basketball coaches selected the Arizona Wildcats to repeat as conference champions in the preseason poll released on Thursday, with returning big man Motiejus Krivas chosen as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year.

Arizona received 12 of 16 first-place votes with Houston getting the other four. Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech rounded out the top five. Arizona State was placed 12th.

Krivas came back to Tucson after earning First Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors last season as a junior. The 7-foot-2 center averaged 10.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while blocking 73 shots in 39 contests for the Final Four-bound Wildcats.

Additionally, ASU’s Paulius Murauskas was picked for Preseason Newcomer of the Year after coming over from Saint Mary’s along with head coach Randy Bennett. Murauskas started his collegiate career with Arizona in 2023-24 and averaged 18.4 points per game last season for the Gaels.

Tyran Stokes of Kansas was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year.

Two Wildcats made the All-Big-12 Preseason Team along with Murauskas:

• Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona
• Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
• Paulius Murauskas, Arizona State
• Robert Wright III, BYU
• Dedan Thomas Jr., Houston
• Joseph Tugler, Houston
• Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
• Tyran Stokes, Kansas
• Xavier Edmonds, TCU
• JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Arizona (12) – 220 points
2. Houston (4) – 214 points
3. Kansas – 186 points
4. Iowa State – 181 points
5. Texas Tech – 180 points
6. BYU – 148 points
7. TCU – 137 points
T8. Cincinnati – 116 points
T8. West Virginia – 116 points
10. Baylor – 102 points
11. Oklahoma State – 98 points
12. Arizona State – 75 points
13. UCF – 55 points
T14. Colorado – 34 points
T14. Kansas State – 34 points
16. Utah – 24 points

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