Arizona is a three-seed in the East Region in the updated bracketology posted by Joe Lunardi of ESPN on Tuesday morning following opening night for College Basketball on Monday. Arizona won its season opener 93-64 over Canisius at McKale Center on Monday. Old Dominion is at Arizona on Saturday.
Lunardi projects Arizona to play 14th seed Lipscomb in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Denver. The winner between Arizona and Lipscomb would play the victor of sixth-seed Kentucky and projected Mountain West winner Boise State in the second round.
If Arizona wins its first two games it would advance to the East Regional in Newark, New Jersey. Lunardi projects seventh seeded Wake Forest to play 10th-seed BYU and Big East Champion Connecticut versus 15th-seed and Summit League South Dakota State in Providence in the other half of Arizona's bracket.
Top seed Duke, fourth seeded Arkansas and fifth seed UCLA are the other top projected teams by Lunardi in the East Region. Arizona hosts Duke on November 22 and plays UCLA In Phoenix on December 14. The East would potentially be the most difficult region. Especially when you consider college basketball history.
starting the season with a W👏 pic.twitter.com/6dVc8JGwG6
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 5, 2024
Nine Arizona opponents are in the projected brackets by Lunardi. Gonzaga and Indiana are on the other half of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket with the potential to play them in the championship game. With the move to the Big XII this season Arizona will have one of the toughest strengths of schedule nationally.
In addition to Battle 4 Atlantis, Duke and UCLA in non-conference Arizona also plays at Wisconsin on November 15. Arizona is fifth in the ESPN Basketball Power Index. That is four and five spots higher than where Arizona is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll.