Making the Case for Arizona Wildcats Being a No. 1 Seed

With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching, there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the top teams in the bracket. We know that Kentucky will be the No. 1 overall seed, and it seems likely that Virginia will earn a spot on the top line as well. However, the other two No. 1 seeds are totally up for grabs, with Arizona, Duke, Villanova, and Wisconsin battling it out for the top spots. Conference tournaments will do a lot to sort this out, but Arizona should end up as deserving of one of the top seeds.

The Wildcats are currently 26-3 overall and 14-2 in the Pac-12, sitting in first place in the conference and ranked 5th in the AP top 25. Arizona’s three losses were all true road games and came by a combined nine points. Two of the teams who beat the Wildcats were Arizona State and Oregon State, teams that the Wildcats stomped by 24 and 23 points, respectively, at home.

Arizona has also picked up several impressive wins this season, defeating San Diego State, Gonzaga, and Utah twice. All of those teams were ranked in the top 15 when the Wildcats beat them. Arizona is 6-0 against the RPI top 50, a winning percentage equaled only by Kentucky.

The big knock against Arizona is their 103 non-conference strength of schedule, a number that is somewhat misleading. The Wildcats actually rank 6th in non-conference RPI and a respectable 47th in overall strength of schedule. They had no way of knowing how poor Michigan, Kansas State, and Missouri would be when they scheduled them, so it’s not like you can criticize the team for scheduling cupcakes.

The Wildcats rank 3rd in the country in scoring margin, sixth in rebound margin, and tenth in field goal percentage. They have one of the most complete rosters in the country and have performed consistently. As much as anything, Arizona passes the eye test of team that can contend for a national championship. If the Wildcats win the Pac-12 tournament, it would be very hard to justify keeping them out of a No. 1 seed.

The competition for the No. 1 seeds behind Kentucky is very fierce, but Arizona is as deserving as anybody. Conference tournaments will likely be the deciding factor, but if Arizona finishes the season as both the Pac-12 regular season and tournament champions, they will have earned their No. 1 seed.

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