Arizona
Arizona basketball March Madness prediction: How far will Wildcats go in NCAA Tournament?
Arizona’s Caleb Love recalls the best moments from his previous March Madness appearances
Arizona’s Caleb Love talks about expectations for his team in the Big 12, and his hopes for March Madness. He also talks about his partnership with Ritz.
The NCAA Tournament bracket is set. How hard is the Arizona Wildcats’ potential road to the Final Four?
Here’s a look at Arizona’s possible opponents in each round of March Madness and our prediction for how far Tommy Lloyd’s team will advance in the bracket.
Last season, Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed, beating No. 15 Long Beach State 85-65 in the first round and No. 7 seed Dayton 78-68 in the second round before falling to No. 6 seed Clemson, 77-72.
The Wildcats haven’t made the Elite Eight since 2015. They haven’t made the Final Four since they lost to Duke in the 2001 National Championship game.
Could they end those skids in the 2025 NCAA Tournament?
Watch Arizona vs Akron on Sling TV
Arizona’s first-round NCAA Tournament opponent
Tommy Lloyd’s team is the No. 4 seed in the East Region of March Madness and will face No. 13 seed Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle, looking to begin a long NCAA Tournament run.
Arizona’s first-round March Madness opponent, Akron, advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Conference Tournament.
It went 28-6 overall in the regular this season and 17-1 in conference play.
Arizona’s potential second-round March Madness opponents
The winner of the Arizona vs Akron game will face the winner of the No. 5 Oregon vs No. 12 Liberty game in the second round on Sunday, with the winner of that game advancing to the Sweet 16.
Arizona’s potential Sweet 16 opponents
Arizona would likely face No. 1 seed Duke, No. 8 seed Mississippi State or No. 9 seed Baylor in the Sweet 16, if it were to win its first two games in March Madness.
Arizona’s potential Elite 8 opponents
If Arizona were to win its first three games, the Wildcats would face the winner of the other half of the NCAA bracket for the East Region in the regional semifinal, with No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 6 BYU and No. 7 St. Mary’s being the highest seeds on that side of the bracket.
Arizona’s potential Final Four opponents
The winner of the East Region faces the winner of the Midwest Region in the Final Four. If Arizona were to somehow make it that far, the highest seeds in the Midwest Region include No. 1 seed Houston, No. 2 seed Tennessee, No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 4 seed Purdue.
Arizona’s potential National Championship game opponents
The winner of the Midwest Region vs East Region national semifinal would face the winner of the South Region vs West Region national semifinal in the NCAA title game. Arizona’s possible opponents in that game, should it somehow make a run in the tournament and advance that far?
Auburn is the top seed in the South, with Michigan State the No. 2 seed, Iowa State the third seed and Texas A&M the fourth seed. The West Region’s Top 4 seeds are No. 1 Florida, No. 2 St. Johns, No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 4 Maryland.
Arizona Wildcats NCAA Tournament March Madness prediction
We wrote about Arizona’s “potential” opponents in the March Madness bracket, but how far will the Wildcats actually advance in the NCAA Tournament?
We predicted an 85-78 win for Arizona over Akron in our first-round March Madness game prediction. As for the second round? We think the Wildcats can get past Oregon (or Liberty) to make their second straight Sweet 16 appearance under Tommy Lloyd.
But we don’t foresee Arizona getting to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015 in this tournament. Duke will be too much for the Wildcats in that round, even if Cooper Flagg isn’t 100%.
Prediction: Arizona Wildcats lose in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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PHOENIX (AP/AZFamily) — The moon will look slightly bigger and brighter Wednesday during the closest supermoon of the year, which can be seen from Arizona!
The moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t a perfect circle, so it gets nearer and farther as it swings around. A so-called supermoon happens when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. That makes the moon look up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, according to NASA.
November’s supermoon is the second of three supermoons this year and also the closest: The moon will come within just under 222,000 miles of Earth.
Tides may be slightly higher during a supermoon because the moon is closer to Earth, said astronomer Lawrence Wasserman with Lowell Observatory. But the difference isn’t very noticeable.
No special equipment is needed to view the supermoon if clear skies permit. But the change in the moon’s size can be tough to discern with the naked eye.
“The difference is most obvious as a comparison between other images or observations,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, in an email.
Supermoons happen a few times a year. One in October made the moon look somewhat larger, and another in December will be the last of the year.
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No. 13 Arizona got the season started on the right foot. The Wildcats traveled to Las Vegas and took down the defending champions, No. 3 Florida, behind an aggressive effort inside the arc, winning 93-87.
GREAT DAY TO BE A WILDCAT!! #BearDown🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hNKlIYIMCj
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025
Tommy Lloyd’s new-look Wildcats opened the Hall of Fame Series with three freshmen in the starting lineup. Koa Peat, Ivan Kharchenkov, and Brayden Burries all found themselves in the starting five, while fellow freshman Dwayne Aristode found minutes off the bench in the eight-man rotation.
The Wildcats also got a strong showing from arguably its most important piece: veteran guard Jaden Bradley. Guard play is so important in early games to offset some of the rust that teams are bound to have. Arizona had the more experienced option, and it paid off.
Bradley scored 27 points on 9-of-14 from the field. He added five assists and picked a pair of pockets in the win. His leadership allowed the rest of the Wildcats to settle in to more defined roles, letting the offense hit its stride.
While Burries had an off night and Aristode only spent six minutes on the floor, the other two freshmen who saw action were instrumental to the team’s success.
Peat led the way with a 30-piece as his hello to collegiate basketball. The highly-touted freshman isn’t totally new to Lloyd’s system. He played under Lloyd on the Team USA U19 National Team over the summer, where he said he got a head start on learning his role.
His role on Monday? Barrel his way down low and finish at the rim, with a splash of playmaking in between. He added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block to his line. He shot 11-of-18 from the field, all within the arc, and sunk 8-of-12 from the line.
Peat became the first player to score post at least 30 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals in their collegiate debut since 2002, and he did so against Florida’s championship-level front court. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh had no answer for the Arizona freshman.
With just under seven minutes left in the game, tied at 70-70, Peat got the crowd buzzing. Peat set a pick and rolled to the basket, leaped and reached sky-high for a lob from Anthony Dell’Orso, and slammed it home with his right hand.
With the crowd on it’s feet, Peat served up an encore for the Las Vegas audience. After grabbing a board on the next possession, Peat jogged right down the middle lane and jammed it down with two hands, this time with a feed from Bradley.
KOA. PEAT. 😤😤😤 @kpeat10 pic.twitter.com/q4NMmIP4Qi
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025
It was a nearly flawless debut for Peat, and it instantly raised the alrady high expectations he has in Tucson.
“It was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” Lloyd said postgame. “Everyone’s known about him, but no one’s really studied him and watched him. He’s a special player. The way he came out in that atmosphere, and he went against a first team All-American, and that kid’s a heck of a player. Koa obviously more than held his own.”
The freshman from Germany and Bayern Munich alum earned a spot in the starting lineup over the veteran sharpshooter Dell’Orso, and made Lloyd look like a genius in doing so.
In 35 minutes of action, Kharchenkov had 12 points and 10 rebounds, recording a double-double in his Wildcats debut. He also nailed both of his shots from long range, which happened to be the only triples Arizona hit in the game on five tries.
Kharchenkov departed for the locker room during the first half, but later returned and finished the game strong. He’s a guy that’s been on Lloyd’s radar for awhile, and now it’s all coming to fruition.
BANGGGGGG🔥 Cats lead 47-42 with 2:23 left in the first half pic.twitter.com/lWgRglsSqW
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025
“He just turned 19, but he’s played high level basketball,” Lloyd said. “He was coached by a guy named Pablo Laso. You guys might not know that name, but he was also the guy that coached Luka Doncic at Real Madrid. I’ve gotten to know Coach Laso over the years. A couple years ago Coach Laso was the head coach of Bayern Munich, where Ivan was playing, and so I obviously called to do my homework, and he’s just like, ‘Tommy, you’re going to be blown away how ready he is from day one.’
“He’s also had some ups and downs and practices, but for him to come out today like he did on this stage, was impressive,” Lloyd continued. “Because what I’ve been on is you know what about rebounding, and he led us in rebounding tonight. So that shows me he’s a good learner, so it probably gives me the liberty to keep getting on him.”
If Kharchenkov can be another reliable piece for three this season, assuming the Wildcats shoot more than they did on Monday, Arizona can truly be a complete offense and a threat from every spot on the floor. It was definitely a positive sign to see him step in so seamlessly to the college game.
What are your thoughts on Peat and Kharchenkov in Arizona’s win over the Gators? Tell us by commenting on our X account. Just click the link and be sure give us a follow.
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