The 2026 NCAA Tournament is less than a month away, but if it started now, Arizona would once again be a No. 1 seed.
The tournament selection committee ranked UA as the No. 3 team in the field during Thursday’s mock picks, giving the Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Big 12) the No. 1 seed in the West Region. This will be Arizona’s second top seed in five seasons Tommy Lloyd and will keep his team on the West Coast for the first two weekends, possibly opening in San Diego before heading west to San Jose.
Michigan (Midwest), Duke (East) and Iowa State (South) are the other No. 1 seeds, with the Cyclones accounting for half of the Big 12’s top four spots. According to the chairman of the selection committee Keith Gill At least three of the projected No. 1 seeds have earned true No. 1 seeds in each of the seven previous seasons, with the exception of 2023, when all four seeds earned that distinction.
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The committee released its projected top 16 teams, and other West prospects include No. 8 Purdue, No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 14 Michigan State. Michigan State is expected to be UA’s Sweet 16 opponent, with Lloyd potentially facing his alma mater in the Elite Eight.
The Big 12 has five teams in the top 16, tied with the Big 10, while the ACC and SEC each have two teams, and the Big East and West Coast Conference have one each. Houston is ranked No. 6 overall, Kansas is No. 10 and Texas Tech is No. 13. Red Raiders advance despite losing star player JT Topping He suffered a season-ending knee injury on Tuesday.
Arizona has three games remaining against teams projected to finish in the top 16, starting Saturday at Houston (23-3, 11-2) in a game that could decide the Big 12 title. The Wildcats will also face Kansas State on February 28 and Iowa State on March 2.
