NCAA tournament Bracketology update: Arizona moves into higher seed in West
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In the span of six weeks, the Arizona Wildcats have gone from a team barely above .500 to one of the best college basketball teams in the country.
Entering Big 12 play, Arizona was 6-5 and did not have a single Quadrant 1 victory on its resume. Since conference play started on Dec. 30, the Wildcats are 11-1 with seven Quad 1 wins.
Arizona (17-6, 11-1) has jumped to No. 7 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 13 in both the AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll.
But where do the Wildcats stand in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee?
Arizona's NCAA Tournament Seed
ESPN's latest Bracketology update has Arizona slotted as a No. 3 seed in the West Region, which is one seed higher than their last projection — and three seeds higher than their No. 6 prediction just over two weeks ago.
The Wildcats are projected to play No. 14 Utah Valley in the first round in Denver, which is the closest first-weekend site to Tucson. If the Wildcats win, they are projected to play No. 6 UCLA in the second round — a rematch of the Bruins' 57-54 win on Dec. 14.
ESPN predicts the No. 1 seed in the West will be Tennessee, with Texas A&M No. 2. If Arizona advances to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco, they would likely face the Aggies in the No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup.
Big 12 Outlook
Entering Tuesday's slate of Big 12 games, the Wildcats are a 1/2 game behind Houston for first place in the conference. If they can beat Kansas State on Tuesday night, Arizona will set up a first-place showdown with the Cougars on Saturday in Tucson.
The winner of the Arizona-Houston game will have the inside track to the Big 12 championship — and a potential No. 2 seed or higher in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Arizona is currently 7-6 in Quad 1 games and tied for the third-most Quad 1 victories in the country. A Quad 1 victory is a home win against a top 30 team in the NCAA NET Rankings, or a road win against a top 50 team in the NET. Including the Houston game, Arizona has four more Quad 1 opportunities on its schedule.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET Rankings as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament — and the committee has historically put a lot of weight on Quad 1 wins. Despite losing on Saturday, Auburn is still the No. 1 team in the NET Rankings, in large part because the Tigers are 11-2 in Quad 1 games.
Last season Arizona finished with nine Quad 1 wins and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. If the Wildcats stay hot, they could finish this season with 10 or more.
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.