Arizona remained in the top 10 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index and NCAA Net Ratings and is just outside that in KenPom on Sunday despite their 84-67 loss at Iowa State on Saturday. The Wildcats are still very much in position for a top-four regional seed in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday in two weeks.
Arizona is currently eighth in the BPI, exactly where they were a week ago. The BPI now projects Arizona to finish with 20.3 wins and 10.7 losses overall and 14.3 wins and 5.7 losses in the Big 12 during the regular season. Arizona has the seventh toughest strength of schedule and 51st most difficult remaining regular season games.
The BPI Strength of Record, which is described by ESPN as how a typical 25th-ranked team would perform against another team's schedule, has Arizona 26th. The SOR would place Arizona as a seventh seed on the S-curve. Arizona is 7-8 versus the BPI Top 50.
Arizona fell from ninth to 10th in the Net Ratings switching places with Iowa State after the loss in Ames. The Wildcats are 6-4 on the road, 1-3 at neutral sites, 24th in wins above bubble and 7-8 versus quad one, 4-2 against quad two and have an 8-0 combined record when playing teams in quads three and four.
Arizona could very well lose in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but anybody that thinks there's a correlation between that and losing on the road against the 9th best team in the country probably needs to watch more basketball.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) March 2, 2025
Depending on how far they advance in the Big 12 Tournament, Arizona will have one to three more chances to earn quadrant one wins. Arizona is currently tied for second in the Big 12 but would lose the tiebreaker to Texas Tech. After playing at Kansas on Saturday, Arizona could have a quick rematch with the Jayhawks in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Arizona is 13th in KenPom after entering the weekend 12th. The Wildcats are 18th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Arizona has the seventh toughest KenPom SOS which matches the BPI. The ORtg of Arizona opponents is eighth in the DRtg.
Arizona plays its final regular season home game on Tuesday versus Arizona State. Arizona State is 69th in the BPI and 65th in the NetRatings and KenPom. Kansas hosts Arizona in the final regular season game on Saturday. The Jayhawks are 12th in the BPI, 20th in KenPom and 19th in the NetRatings.