The Arizona Wildcats were definitely in the NCAA Tournament field, according to the major bracket projections, but might not have lasted long.
The bracket matrix compilation had the Wildcats getting a No. 7 seed, which faces a No. 10 in the first round with the winner likely facing a No. 2.
That's the exact scenario ESPN's Joe Lunardi had for the Wildcats, giving them a No. 7 in the West with a first-round game against No. 10 Texas Tech in Sacramento. The winner would have likely faced No. 2 San Diego State in the second round.
In CBS Bracketology, Jerry Palm had UA a No. 9 in the South, facing No. 8 Marquette in the first round at Omaha, with the winner likely facing No. 1 Baylor in the second round.
Sportsline simulated the games from Palm's bracket, and had Arizona beating Marquette but losing to Baylor.
The Wildcats' seeding would likely not have changed much with a win over USC in the Pac-12 quarterfinals but might have bumped up a line if they beat Oregon on Friday. In any case, the Wildcats would not likely have snuck into the top four seed lines in the Pac-12 Tournament.
The NCAA is reportedly considering whether or not to release a would-be tournament field (possibly since many coaches have bonus clauses tied to whether they make the tournament or not).
Arizona finished with a NET rating of 14, and is ranked 19 in Kenpom, and 40 in Sagarin.
The NCAA is looking at rule changes to allow spring sports participates to gain another year of eligibility after spring sports were canceled, while considering the same for basketball players and other winter sports athletes.
AAU events were postponed for three weeks, while the NCAA's dead period for recruiting will extend to April 15. As of now, the weekends of April 17 and 24 are still scheduled for evaluation events.
Without basketball for a while, there's plenty of time to start poring over NBA Draft possibilities. ESPN's Mike Schmitz linked his collection of video breakdowns with Nico Mannion and several other projected top picks.
