Arizona moves to weakest region in updated NCAA Tournament projections
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The Arizona Wildcats have had a couple of much-needed days off to rest and recuperate after a stretch of five games in 14 days that included road trips to Utah, Kansas and Texas.
The Wildcats get to enjoy more than 10 days at home in Tucson before their next road game at Iowa State on March 1 — a game that will have significant NCAA Tournament seeding implications.
But first, Arizona (18-8, 12-3) has a big matchup vs. red-hot BYU (18-8, 9-6) on Saturday night in the McKale Center. The Cougars have won three in a row, including one of the most shocking results of the season — a 91-57 dismantling of Kansas on Tuesday.
The win over Kansas vaulted BYU from "last four in" territory to firmly in the 2025 NCAA Tournament field in the latest Bracketology projections from ESPN's Joe Lunardi. BYU is currently slotted as a No. 11 seed in the West, matched up against No. 6 Clemson in the first round in Wichita.
Arizona's NCAA Tournament predictions
Arizona was slotted as a No. 3 seed in the East in the first NCAA Tournament Selection Committee top 16 rankings of the season, released last Saturday. The two leading Bracketology experts, Lunardi and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm, have a different outlook for the Wildcats in their most recent updates on Friday.
Lunardi has Arizona as a No. 3 seed in the Midwest, matched up against Utah Valley in the first round in Denver. It's an intriguing placement, mainly because it puts the Wildcats in the same region as No. 1 Alabama — and the Crimson Tide are widely viewed as the weakest of the potential No. 1 seeds.
Being placed in the East — where Duke and Tennessee are likely going to be the top two seeds — is arguably the worst possible draw for Arizona. The strongest No. 1 seeds are Auburn and Duke, and many experts believe Houston should be a No. 1 seed. Arizona would avoid all three of those teams with a Midwest placement.
Palm has the Wildcats slotted as a No. 4 seed in the West, matched up against High Point in the first round in Seattle. Palm has Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky as the top three seeds in the West. If Arizona advances to the Sweet 16 they'll likely face the winner of No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Gonzaga, which would be one of the most intriguing matchups of the entire tournament.
With five regular-season games to go — plus the Big 12 Tournament — the Wildcats have an opportunity to improve their seed and region placement. We'll see where they rank when the Selection Committee releases its updated top 16 seeds on Saturday morning.
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.