Arizona Wildcats land No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region of the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament after a 31-3 record. They won both the Pac-12 Tournament and regular-season titles.

With the bracket finally here, the road to a potential Final Four berth for the Wildcats will start against the winner of Bryant vs. Wright State, who will play in the First Four. Arizona’s tournament begins on Friday, March 18 in San Diego.

Arizona is joined by Villanova, Tennessee and Illinois in the South Region.

If Arizona gets past the No. 16 seed, it will face the winner of Seton Hall vs. TCU.

Gonzaga, Kansas and Baylor are the other No. 1 seeds in the tournament.

WE’RE IN 🔥#BearDown #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/KC9wpxXVAg

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 13, 2022

In head coach Tommy Lloyd’s first year, the Wildcats exceeded expectations and now are among the favorites to win the National Championship. It marks the first time since 2014 Arizona has garnered a No. 1 seed and the sixth time in program history.

After winning the conference with an 18-2 regular-season record against Pac-12 opponents, the Wildcats made it to the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament, beating UCLA 84-76 on Saturday night.

The Wildcats have been led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Bennedict Mathurin, along with their core of big men Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko to go with guard Kerr Kriisa.

The South Region!#SelectionSunday #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/itj3KRio7Z

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 13, 2022

Kriisa’s status, however, remains in question for the tournament after he suffered an ankle injury in Thursday’s quarterfinal win in the Pac-12 Tournament over Stanford.

The guard didn’t play the rest of the tournament, but was seen Saturday walking without crutches or a boot.

Kerr Kriisa walking without a boot or crutches today pic.twitter.com/Lenqi5nuKh

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 13, 2022

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