Here is where Utah men’s basketball is projected to finish in the Pac-12 this season

For its final go-round in the Pac-12 Conference, the University of Utah men’s basketball team is predicted to finish seventh.

The Runnin’ Utes received 139 points in the media poll, which was released prior to Wednesday’s Pac-12 men’s basketball media day in Las Vegas.

It’s the final time these 12 teams will meet like this, with 10 schools — including Utah — leaving for new conferences next year.

After three straight years of UCLA being the favorite to win, there’s a new team atop the preseason polls, as Arizona was predicted to win the conference. The Wildcats garnered 18 of the 22 first-place votes and 303 total points.

Behind Arizona is USC (four first-place votes, 264 points) at No. 2 and UCLA (four, 249) at No. 3.

Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State — in that order — are also are projected to finish ahead of Utah.

Seventh happens to be where the Utes finished the 2022-23 season in the Pac-12 standings. Utah started conference play last season with five consecutive wins before injuries and inconsistent offense played a factor as the Utes stumbled down the stretch.

The Utes are coming off a 17-15 season, including 10-10 in conference play, where Utah mixed some successes earlier in the season — like a Pac-12-opening victory over then-top five Arizona — with a six-game losing streak to end the year.

The only other time Utah has been picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 preseason poll came in 2017-18, when the Utes ended the year in a three-way tie for third with an 11-7 Pac-12 record.

The team has several key pieces returning in 2023-24, headlined by fifth-year senior center Branden Carlson, who was named to the Pac-12’s preseason all-conference team for the second straight season, as well as senior guards Gabe Madsen, Rollie Worster and Ben Carlson.

There are a handful of new faces as well, like transfers Cole Bajema, Deivon Smith, Lawson Loveridge and Hunter Erickson.

Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason media poll

1. Arizona (18 first-place votes), 303 points.
2. USC (4), 264.
3. UCLA (4), 249.
4. Oregon, 228.
5. Colorado, 210.
6. Arizona State, 148.
7. Utah, 139.
8. Stanford, 131.
9. Washington, 108.
10. Washington State, 94.
11. California, 67.
12. Oregon State, 42.

Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason all-conference team

First team

• Oumar Ballo, Arizona, center.
• Adem Bona, UCLA, forward/center.
• Keion Brooks Jr., Washington, forward.
• Branden Carlson, Utah, center.
• Isaiah Collier, USC, guard.
• N’Faly Dante, Oregon, center.
• Tristan da Silva, Colorado, forward.
• Boogie Ellis, USC, guard.
• Spencer Jones, Stanford, forward.
• KJ Simpson, Colorado, guard.

Second team

• Fardaws Aimaq, California, forward.
• Kylan Boswell, Arizona, guard.
• Kobe Johnson, USC, guard.
• Caleb Love, Arizona, guard.
• Jordan Pope, Oregon State, guard.

Honorable mention (received votes from five or more members of the media): Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon), Pelle Larsson (Arizona), Aday Mara (UCLA), Cody Williams (Colorado).