The Arizona Wildcats have landed a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, as announced by the selection committee on Sunday night. Arizona is fresh off a Big 12 Tournament victory on Saturday night, beating the Houston Cougars 79-74 in Kansas City. Arizona will take on No. 16 seed LIU on Friday night. If they win, they will play the winner of No. 9 Utah State and No. 8 Villanova.
Arizona’s 2025-26 Basketball Season
The Wildcats won the Big 12 regular season title, going 16-2 in league play, and 32-2 on the season, including a run through the Big 12 Tournament, and winning the conference title for the first time on Saturday night.
Arizona’s only two losses came in back-to-back games at Kansas and home to Texas Tech. Since that game, the Wildcats have ripped off nine wins in a row. They’re led by Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley, who averaged 13.3 points per game and 4.5 assists per game. But the Cats have a balanced attack with four other players averaging in double figures scoring: Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov.
The Wildcats are led by Big 12 Coach of the Year Tommy Lloyd, who is in his 5th season with the Wildcats and has gone 144-35 in his five seasons on the job.
Arizona’s NCAA Tournament History
From 1985 to 2009, the Arizona basketball team reached the NCAA Division I tournament for 25 consecutive years, tied for 3rd longest in NCAA history. The Wildcats have reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament on four occasions (1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001). They have also made two appearances in the National Championship (won over Kentucky Wildcats in 1997, lost to Duke Blue Devils in 2001).
The Wildcats have reached the Sweet 16 in each of their last two seasons, but they have not reached an Elite 8 since 2015. In fact, the Cats have dealt with more heartbreak than not in recent tournaments. In 2024, they were a No. 2 seed and were upset by No. 6 Clemson in the Sweet 16, which came one year after they were upset by Princeton as a No. 2 seed. In 2022, as a No. 1 seed, they lost to No. 5 Houston in the Sweet 16.
Last season, Arizona was a No. 4 seed and fell to No. 1 Duke in the East Region in the Sweet 16.
