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Arizona in clear top 3 number 1 seeds in early NCAA Tournament bracket reveal

Arizona held on to its projected top seed in the West as one of the clear top three teams as the NCAA Tournament committee revealed its top 16 teams in the bracket on Saturday.
ByAlan Rubenstein|
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Feb 18, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) jumps to make a lay up while Brigham Young Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) fails to block him during the second half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
Feb 18, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) jumps to make a lay up while Brigham Young Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) fails to block him during the second half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Arizona earned the third overall seed and is the top-seeded team in the West as the NCAA Tournament selection committee released a preliminary top 16 on Saturday. NCAA Tournament committee chairman Keith Gill stated that Michigan, Duke and Arizona are the clear top three seeds.

Michigan is the number one overall seed. The Wolverines top most of the metrics and have the best resume per Gill. The regions are nearly balanced when the seeds are added up. Surprisingly, Iowa State was selected as the fourth number one seed. Arizona hosts Iowa State on March 2.

The NCAA Tournament committee chose Purdue as the tentative second seed in the West, Gonzaga third and Michigan State fourth. Arizona plays at Houston on Saturday afternoon. Houston is a surprising second seed in the Midwest behind Michigan, despite also being ranked second in the national polls to the Wolverines.

Arizona has six wins and two losses all-time against Michigan State. Arizona beat Michigan State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament National Semifinal in the only postseason game between the Wildcats and Spartans. Michigan State is 21-5 entering its game versus Ohio State on Sunday.

Projecting far ahead

Arizona has five wins and eight losses against Purdue. Purdue beat Arizona in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in their only big postseason game. The Boilermakers have defeated the Wildcats in the last three games the teams have played. Purdue is 22-5 and next plays Michigan State on Thursday.

Arizona has won six and lost four all-time against Gonzaga. That includes two wins and no losses against the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament. Like Purdue, Gonzaga has a three-game winning streak against Arizona. Gonzaga is 26-2.

Big XII NCAA Tournament bracket presence

In addition to Arizona, Houston and Iowa State, Kansas is a three-seed in the East behind Duke and second-seed Illinois and Texas Tech is a four in the South behind Iowa State, Connecticut and Nebraska in the South as the other Big XII teams who earned a top four protected seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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