Arizona is most likely going to be hosting NCAA tournament games; it’s just a matter of what seed they could become. Here are the potential seed scenarios in the NCAA Tournament based on potential results from this weekend’s Pac-12 tournament:
A loss in the quarterfinals to Cal — 5 seed
Arizona losing to Cal for a second-straight time would mean that the end of the Wildcats’ season is closer than it seems. Rebounding was a huge issue for the Wildcats in their regular season finale and it would be detrimental to their season if they don’t solve this issue soon, not to mention that Arizona went 2-for-16 from 3-point range.
A loss in the quarterfinals to Arizona State — 4 seed
Look, Arizona has beaten ASU twice, so this would be a loss that should not shock anyone. Arizona has won the first two regular season matchups, and beating anyone for a third time would be as hard of a task as it could come for the Wildcats.
A loss in the semifinals to Oregon — 4 seed
Oregon has won the first two matchups against Arizona convincingly. Oregon is the most talented team up and down that this Arizona team could face in the conference tournament. They’ll need to play much better defense than they did last time.
A loss in the semifinals to Washington/Utah — 4 seed
I highly doubt either Washington or Utah would pull off this monumental upset, but if they do, Arizona should not want any piece of these teams. Arizona has not lost to either of these teams this season, but it could be a first loss if either of these teams get hot just in time for the conference tournament.
A loss in the finals to Stanford/Oregon State/UCLA/other — 3 seed
Arizona would put on a nice run just before the “Big Dance,” and this would be very encouraging before playing two NCAA tournament games potentially at McKale Center.
Winning the Pac-12 Tournament — 1 Seed
Arizona would have won the toughest conference tournament in the country and this would mean that a one seed would be more than worthy for them moving forward. All of the bad losses like Cal and Colorado they had throughout the year would be wiped out and forgotten about. Their wins over Stanford, UCLA and Oregon State are all great wins and will be taken into account when deciding seeding, along with a potential win over Oregon.
What Arizona needs to do to make this happen is to find their shooting stroke. They have had very inconsistent shooting games and they have been all over teams defensively. They can beat teams in transition and with consistent perimeter shooting. If they shoot 40% from 3-point range each game, this should be Arizona’s big weekend and this could resonate how they’ll do in the NCAA tournament.
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