Arizona returns to NCAA Tournament as No. 1 seed in West region
Mar 16, 2014, 10:18 PM | Updated: Mar 19, 2014, 4:31 am
Despite a loss Saturday to UCLA in the Pac-12 championship game, the 30-4 Arizona Wildcats were chosen as one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
The tournament selection committee placed the Wildcats at the top of the West region Sunday. Sixty-eight teams in total were selected to the tourney. Arizona is slated to face No. 16 Weber State in the second round of the postseason tournament at 11:10 a.m. MST on Friday, March 21, at San Diego State’s Viejas Arena.
If the Wildcats advance past their first challenge, they will face the winner of the Gonzaga-Oklahoma State contest; those two programs are ranked No. 8 and 9 in the region, respectively.
The Sweet Sixteen round of the West region will be played in Anaheim, Calif.
Arizona broke a school record by winning its first 21 games to open the season, and the program was ranked No. 1 in the nation for a good portion of the year. Coach Sean Miller’s squad lost four of its last 13 games, but was ranked No. 4 in the country before losing to UCLA on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Wildcats, who had the Pac-12’s best record in the regular season, are going to the NCAA’s top tournament for the second year in a row. As a No. 6 seed in 2013, they made it to the Sweet Sixteen round before losing a close contest to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Arizona wasn’t the only school from the state to make the postseason dance Sunday. Arizona State, which split the season series with the Wildcats, was selected as a No. 10 seed in the Midwest region.
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