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Arizona softball continues to rise in national polls

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1 year ago

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Arizona softball continues to rise in national polls


Softball teams are starting to separate themselves after the second week of competition. Were their preseason rankings too high or too low? Were they left out altogether when they shouldn’t have been? The Arizona Wildcats are firmly in the camp of living up to or even exceeding expectations.

Arizona is higher after week two than it was in all four preseason polls. It rose in three of the four polls for the second straight week.

D1 Softball and Softball America both rank the Wildcats in the top 10. Softball America bumped Arizona up two spots to No. 9 this week. D1 Softball kept the Wildcats at No. 10, a position they moved into after the first week of play.

The USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll still have the team outside the top 10. USA Softball gave the Wildcats the biggest boost of all four major rankings, moving them up four spots to No. 11.

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NFCA now ranks Arizona the lowest of the four. It moved the Wildcats up two spots to No. 13 after the second week of competition. This is the poll used as the official ranking on this site.

The Wildcats now have an average ranking of 10.75 across the four polls. That’s an improvement from 12.75 after week one and 14.75 in the preseason polls.

Arizona is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in three of the four polls. The other two teams that are still ranked are Oklahoma State (5-4) and Texas Tech (8-3) after Baylor (6-4) fell out of all four this week.

The NFCA poll clusters all three Big 12 teams together with No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 14 Oklahoma State sandwiching the Wildcats. USA Softball also clusters the three together but has No. 11 Arizona over No. 12 TTU and No. 13 OSU. Softball America has the other two teams a bit behind No. 9 Arizona with the Cowgirls coming in at No. 12 and the Red Raiders at No. 13. D1 Softball has No. 11 OSU one spot behind Arizona and TTU back at No. 14.

The Wildcats can climb even higher if they rise to the occasion at this week’s Hillenbrand Invitational. Arizona will welcome in No. 1 Texas and No. 18 Stanford along with UC Davis and Colorado State beginning on Thursday, Feb. 20.

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Lead photo by Madison Farwell / Arizona Athletics



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Arizona

SB Nation Reacts: Arizona men’s basketball fans expecting deep NCAA Tournament run

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11 hours ago

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March 20, 2026

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SB Nation Reacts: Arizona men’s basketball fans expecting deep NCAA Tournament run


Houston v Arizona

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: Brayden Burries #5 of the Arizona Wildcats cuts down the net after defeating the Houston Cougars in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center on March 14, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
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Will Arizona center Motiejus Krivas be picked in NBA Draft?

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23 hours ago

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March 19, 2026

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Will Arizona center Motiejus Krivas be picked in NBA Draft?


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SAN DIEGO — At 7-foot-2, Arizona center Motiejus Krivas is one of the nation’s premier defensive centers. The junior out of Lithuania is a key part of the reason that Arizona forces its opponents to shoot their 2-pointers an average of 7.0 feet from the rim — the 11th highest mark in Division I. But for his NBA Draft stock, the question will be how valuable that skill set is in the modern NBA, given Krivas’ limited impact further from the basket. Here is where he ranks on a handful of notable big boards.

  • Tankathon: 51
  • The Athletic: 73
  • ESPN: 27
  • CBS: 30

This season, Krivas is Arizona’s fourth leading scorer, averaging 10.5 points per game on 58.2% shooting. He’s taken just 12 threes on the season, although he has made four of them. As for his impact elsewhere, he’s averaging 8.1 rebounds and an impressive 1.8 blocks per game. His profile is rounded out by 1.0 assists and 0.7 steals per contest.



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Arizona State vs Virginia predictions, picks, odds for NCAA Tournament First Four

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1 day ago

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March 19, 2026

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Arizona State vs Virginia predictions, picks, odds for NCAA Tournament First Four


The First Four of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament continues Thursday with a slate featuring No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 10 Virginia on the two-game schedule.

Here is the latest on Thursday’s March Madness matchup, including expert picks from reporters across the USA TODAY Sports Network.

USA TODAY Sports has a team of journalists covering the women’s NCAA Tournament to keep you up to date with every point scored, rebound grabbed and game won in the 68-team tournament.

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No. 10 Arizona State vs No. 10 Virginia prediction

  • Mitchell Northam: Arizona State
  • Meghan Hall: Virginia
  • Cydney Henderson: Arizona State
  • Heather Burns: Virginia
  • Nancy Armour: Virginia

No. 10 Arizona State vs No. 10 Virginia odds

  • Opening Moneyline: Virginia (-150)
  • Opening Spread: Virginia (-2.5)
  • Opening Total: 126.5

How to Watch Arizona State vs Virginia on Thursday

No. 10 Arizona State takes on No. 10 Virginia at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on March 19 at 9:00 PM. The game is airing on ESPN2.

Stream March Madness on Fubo

2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament full schedule

  • March 18-19: First Four
  • March 20-21: First Round
  • March 22-23: Second Round
  • March 27-28: Sweet 16
  • March 29-30: Elite 8
  • April 3: Final Four
  • April 5: National Championship



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