Cats earn reasonable path to Final Four
NCAA Tournament selection committee chair Mark Hollis said UA sat in the middle of the No. 3 seed line – and not in the West Region – entering the week but moved all the way to the No. 6 overall spot when it beat Colorado, UCLA and Oregon to win the Pac-12 title.
Hollis said Duke moved the most over the last week, from a No. 4 to a No. 2 seed while winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, but said Arizona “moved along in similar fashion” before it was finally “stopped” in the comparison process by Kentucky’s overall résumé (those Wildcats received the South’s No. 2 seed).
“Another thing with Arizona is all their losses came to top-16 teams on the RPI,” Hollis said. “So, as you're looking through those, they're rising, then they get the wins on the neutral court against pretty good teams in the tournament, Oregon and UCLA. That helped bring them up.
“Those were pretty big moves by both Duke and Arizona historically when you’re looking at the scrubbing (direct comparison) process.”
The biggest difference in landing a West Region seed for UA is that the Wildcats could get a reyour match with Gonzaga before what would potentially be a pro-UA crowd at San Jose, Calif., in the Elite Eight for the right to get to the Final Four.
Gonzaga beat UA 69-62 on Dec. 3 in Los Angeles, but the Wildcats were without leading scorer Allonzo Trier in that game.
But if UA was a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Midwest (as Oregon now is) they might have to get past Midwest No. 1-seed Kansas in Kansas City, Mo., to get to the Final Four.
Top overall seed Villanova could also be looming for a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in an Elite Eight game in New York, too.
Of course, UA coach Sean Miller wasn’t about to look too far ahead into what it all meant. Not with No. 15-seed North Dakota (22-9) having won both the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles, plus the possibility of facing VCU or Saint Mary’s in the second round.
But he acknowledged that friendly geography can help.
“I’ve learned that when you get a high seed that’s really what you look for, and if you have a chance to stay close to home and stay in the same time zone, that’s a positive for team,” Miller said.
It’s the opposite of the geographical fate UA suffered last season – on top of a matchup against arguably under-seeded Wichita State – when the Wildcats were shipped to Providence, R.I., and were bounced by the 11thseeded Shockers, 65-55 in a first-round game.
“It is important to stay in the West,” UA guard Kadeem Allen said at the Pac-12 Tournament (UA players were unavailable for comment Sunday).
“We keep our fans with us and traveling to the East, that’s a long travel day. It’s a feeling you get like you feel you don't belong over here.”