Arizona Basketball all-time round-by-round record in NCAA Tournament
By Mason Duhon
The Arizona Men's Basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the 38th time in program history, and they've earned the No. 2 seed for the ninth time in program history. Arizona is 6-2 all-time as the No. 2 seed, and is looking to bounce back from the unceremonious exit last year. The 'Cats are set for a matchup against No. 15 Long Beach State in the Round of 64 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
There has been doubt among a vocal minority of Arizona fans about how far this team can go and claims that this will be a one-and-done team. History shows that's not the case, and Arizona typically makes it out of the earlier rounds to play more consequential March Madness basketball. In this exercise, we'll look at Arizona's round-by-round record and their first, best, and last appearance in each round of the Tournament.
There have been many major formatting changes and expansions over the years. In 1951 (Arizona's first tournament berth) and 1952, the Sweet Sixteen was the first round of the NCAA Tournament. By the time Arizona made it back to the dance in 1976, the field expanded such that the Round of 32 was the first round. When Arizona made it once again in 1986, the tournament was in its first year of the well-known and highly beloved 64-team format. Anything from 1986 had the Round of 64 as the first round of March Madness.