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March is here. Can you feel the madness?
Only three weeks ago, Arizona was pegged a No. 1 seed in the West by ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi. The Wildcats are now the No. 4 seed in the same region, according to Lunardi.
The Wildcats are seeded No. 4 in the West behind No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Louisville and No. 3 Michigan. Opposite the Wildcats in the second round matchup at Salt Lake City is the winner of the First Four game between No. 13 seeds Mississippi and Villanova. If Arizona is placed in the West and advances to the Sweet 16, it would play in Los Angeles.
Jerry Palm, the Bracketology expert at CBSSports.com, has Arizona as the No. 2 seed playing in the South. The Wildcats would also play in Salt Lake City against the No. 15 seed Montana. If they advanced in this scenario they would play in the Sweet 16 at Arlington, Texas.
After Wednesday’s upset loss at USC, the Wildcats have fallen to No. 14 in the CBSSports.com RPI. They were as high as No. 2 at one point. ESPN’s Daily RPI also has the Wildcats No. 14.
RPI guru Kevin Pomeroy (KenPom.com) has the Wildcats all the way down to No. 19.
The Nos. 14 through No. 19 rankings means the Wildcats are slated to be either a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona basketball history buffs will like this: The Wildcats are the only No. 4 seed to win an NCAA title, in 1996-97 when the Wildcats entered the tournament with a 19-9 overall record and fifth-place finish in the Pac-10.
A lot of maneuvering is ahead with Arizona playing at UCLA tomorrow night and hosting ASU next Saturday. The Pac-12 tournament follows, starting on March 13.
Site publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner
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