The 2026 NCAA Tournament is less than a month away, but if it started right now, Arizona would once again be the No. 1 seed.
The tournament selection committee ranked UA as the No. 3 overall team in the field in a mock selection conducted Thursday, sending the Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Big 12) as the No. 1 seed in the West Region. It would be Arizona’s second No. 1 seed in five seasons under tommy lloyd and would keep his team on the West Coast for the first two weekends, likely opening in San Diego before heading to the West Regional in San Jose.
Michigan (Midwest), Duke (East) and Iowa State (South) were the other projected No. 1 seeds, and the Cyclones gave the Big 12 half of the top four. According to the president of the Selection Committee Keith Gill at least three of those projected top seeds have earned the No. 1 seed in the actual bracket in seven of the previous seasons, with the exception of 2023, when all four did so.
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The committee released the projected top 16 teams, and the others in line to play in the West are No. 8 Purdue, No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 14 Michigan State. Michigan State would be UA’s projected Sweet 16 opponent, with Lloyd potentially facing his old school in the Elite Eight.
The Big 12 had five teams in the Top 16, tied with the Big Ten, while the ACC and SEC had two each and the East and West Coast Conferences one each. Houston was No. 6 overall, Kansas was No. 10 and Texas Tech was No. 13. The Red Raiders made the cut despite losing the star. JT Toppin to a knee injury that ended his season on Tuesday.
Arizona has three games remaining against projected top-16 teams, starting Saturday at Houston (23-3, 11-2) in a game that could decide the Big 12 title. The Wildcats also host Kansas on February 28 and Iowa State on March 2.