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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PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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