Arizona has mixed history as a four seed in the NCAA Tournament

Arizona won the 1997 NCAA Championship as a four-seed. The other two appearances for Arizona as a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament ended in first-round losses. Arizona has a deceptive 6-2 record in their three appearances as a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In addition to being a four seed in 1997, Arizona was a four seed in the 1999 NCAA Tournament against Oklahoma in the Midwest Regional in Milwaukee. The 1999 team was a hybrid of players who participated in NCAA Tournament Championship games with Arizona. The 2018 Arizona team lead by Deandre Ayton was the other four seed.

Arizona earned wins over 13th-seed South Alabama by rallying from a 53-43 deficit with 7:31 remaining to win 65-57 in the first round in 1997. In the second round, Arizona held on late against 12th-seed College of Charleston to win 73-69 and advance to the Southeast Regional Semifinal versus top-seeded Kansas.

Kansas was the heavy favorite to win the 1997 National Championship. The Jayhawks entered the Southeast Regional Semifinal with a 34-1 record and their only loss in overtime at Missouri in February. Kansas had a 12-game winning streak before they played Arizona.

Arizona took a double-figure lead in the second half and held on for an 85-82 win when the Jayhawks missed several three-point attempts in the final seconds. That was arguably the second-biggest win in Arizona history to that point. Only the 1988 win over North Carolina in the West Regional Final to advance to the Final Four was bigger.

Arizona had a double-digit lead over Providence in the Southeast Regional Final before holding on to win 96-92 in overtime. Tenth-seed Providence played 14th-seeded Chattanooga who upset three seed Duke in the first round and six seeded Illinois in the second round to advance to the regional semifinals.

Nine years after beating North Carolina in the West Regional Final, Arizona played what was then it's biggest game in program history eclipsing the win over the Tar Heels in 1988. After falling behind 15-4, Arizona rallied to take a 34-31 halftime lead on their way to a 66-58 win over North Carolina and advance to their first NCAA Tournament Championship Game.

Arizona was a significant underdog against defending national champion Kentucky who was making their second of three consecutive appearances in the title game. Miles Simon scored 30 points to earn the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win its only NCAA Championship.

A.J. Bramlett and Jason Terry who were key players in the 1997 run to the national championship and freshman Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright who started in the 2001 title game for Arizona were starters for the Wildcats in 1999 when they lost to 13th seed Oklahoma 86-78 as a four-seed.

Arizona lost a 60-56 lead with 1:40 left in the game versus Oklahoma in 1999. Bramlett missed an opportunity to put Arizona up six when he missed two free throws that would have put the Wildcats up by six. With Arizona up by one late in the game, Wright stepped over the end line turning the ball over to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is 3-0 all-time versus Arizona in the NCAA Tournament when they added a victory over the Wildcats in the 2002 West Regional Final. Arizona has won only two of the seven games versus Oklahoma in the series and is 0-4 at neutral sites.

Arizona lost 89-69 to Buffalo in 2018 NCAA with future number one overall NBA pick Ayton at center. The game was the last in the NCAA Tournament for Arizona under Sean Miller. Arizona missed the 2019 NCAA Tournament, it was cancelled in 2020 and the Wildcats were on a self induced probation in 2021.

Like Buffalo, Akron is the champion of the Mid American Conference. Buffalo was sixth nationally averaging 84.4 points per game. Akron is sixth averaging 84.6 PPG. Seven years later, Arizona has an entirely different staff and obviously players as they prepare to take on the Zips in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.