Arizona is a three-seed in the initial NCAA Tournament reveal of the top 16 seeds. The decisions by the NCAA Tournament committee are how the seeds would look right now and are not indicative of what will happen on March 16, which is Selection Sunday. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi also projects Arizona as a three-seed.
Arizona currently being slotted as a three seed is in line with the Wildcats being 10th in the NCAA NetRatings. After starting 4-5 overall and 0-5 versus quadrant one opponents, Arizona has rallied to win 13 of its last 15 and seven of its last nine against quad one opponents.
Auburn is the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament early bracket reveal. Alabama is second and plays Auburn on Saturday. Arizona is in the East Regional. Duke is the number one seed in the East that will be played in Newark, New Jersey, followed by Tennessee and St. John's.
The SEC dominates the rankings with five of the top six teams. Alabama is the top seed in the Midwest and Florida is number one in the West. Texas A&M in the South and Tennessee are the highest-ranked second seeds. Houston is the highest-ranked Big XII team as the second seed in the West Regional.
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Iowa State and Texas Tech are three seeds, with Kansas a four seed among the other Big XII programs in the top 16. Arizona is 2-3 versus the other programs in the top 16 and plays Houston on Saturday. Arizona has games remaining at Iowa State and Kansas in March among the top 16 seeds.
Auburn is the only team among the top 16 that has played more quad-one games than Arizona. The Wildcats could potentially play themselves into a two-seed if they continue to win down the stretch. Winning the quad-one games is critical for Arizona when the brackets are revealed for real.