NIT 2012: Arizona Wildcats Will Demolish Outmatched Bucknell

The Arizona Wildcats are going to destroy the Bucknell Bison in the first round of the 2012 NIT tournament.

No. 8-seeded Bucknell is just far overmatched against the No. 1 Wildcats, and it's not even close. The Bison may have a better overall record than the Wildcats—24-9 compared to 23-11—but there is no possible way we could compare the strength of the Patriot League to the Pac-12.

The scary thing is, the Pac-12 was arguably the weakest major conference in all of college basketball this season.

Nonetheless, Arizona is by far the best team in the NIT. It's going to be a very tough draw for the Bison.

This Wildcats team can beat you in a variety of different ways, and that's what makes them so dangerous. They can get out on the break and outrun you, they can bang it down low and outhustle you, and they are exceptionally good at making a team pay from behind the three-point line.

They love the run-and gun style of play, and they may be at their most proficient when they can get the ball in the paint and work for a kick out to one of their sharp shooters.

That's a tough strategy to beat.

Who are you going to stop?

Will you decide to focus your efforts on stopping versatile senior Kyle Fogg? He averages 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assist per game, so that would be a wise move.

The problem is, if you focus on him, he'll just kick it down to senior forward Jesse Perry, who is an absolute beast in the post. Once you close in on the paint, though, he's got the options to feed guys like Brendon Lavender or Nick Johnson out on the wings.

My point is, it's going to be very hard to stop this team, and let's not even talk about what happens when they start pushing the ball.

The Wildcats are going to be a tough out in the NIT, and I just don't see a team like Bucknell being able to handle them.

The Bison will get demolished.