Arizona in danger of dropping in NCAA Tournament bracket
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How the Arizona Wildcats perform over the next two weeks will determine where they end up in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
If Arizona catches fire, wins its final two regular-season games and advances to the Big 12 Tournament championship game, Tommy Lloyd's team could be staring at a No. 3 seed or better.
If the Wildcats continue to stumble to the finish line, they could be facing a No. 7 seed or worse.
Updated NCAA Tournament projections
Arizona (19-10, 13-5) has lost four of its last six games, including an 84-67 loss at Iowa State on Saturday that wasn't competitive.
The Wildcats have played one of the toughest schedules in the country — No. 7 according to KenPom — which is why they are still No. 10 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
Despite their NET ranking, CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jerry Palm has the Wildcats dropping all the way to a No. 6 seed in his latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections. Arizona had been as high as a No. 4 seed in recent predictions from Palm.
Palm has Arizona playing the winner of Arkansas vs. Boise State in the first round in Wichita, Kansas. The Wildcats would potentially face No. 3 Texas A&M in the second round, and No. 2 Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. Arizona lost to Wisconsin 103-88 on Nov. 15.
ESPN's latest Bracketology update still has Arizona as a No. 4 seed, matched up against No. 4 Akron in the first round in Denver.
The Wildcats can still significantly improve their March Madness seed by winning their next two games — vs. Arizona State, at Kansas — then winning their first two games of the Big 12 Tournament. Three of those four games should be Quad 1 games, which would give them at least 10 Quad 1 wins on the season.
If the Wildcats continue to drop games, they could be starting at a trip out East and an unfavorable draw in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.