Sixth-ranked Arizona (11-0) continues to inch closer to being a top-five team, but the opportunities to prove to Associated Press voters that it is one of the top teams in the country could be far and few between moving forward by the time Pac-12 play unfolds. UA's next three opponents are all ranked inside the top 25, starting with No. 19 Tennessee, but after that there are no other top-25 teams on the schedule.

Success in the next couple weeks will go a long way toward cementing Arizona's spot among the elite in the country, and Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd understands the importance of the upcoming stretch.

"Regardless of what's gonna happen, our mindset has to be we're gonna be better for it," Lloyd said after Saturday's win over Cal Baptist. "We're not trying to go undefeated. Obviously, we wanna win every game, but we know that that's not realistic. It hasn't been done since 1976. So, we just wanna make sure that we're staying locked in and we have a growth mindset."

The Vols were not originally supposed to be part of Arizona's schedule this year, but when Lloyd took the job of leading the program after coaching at Gonzaga over the last two decades he had no interest in playing his former team.