Even though Arizona has only seven projected players on its 2023-24 roster, ESPN is projecting the Wildcats to win the Pac-12 and take a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In an early "bracketology" posted Tuesday, after the deadline for players to declare for the NBA Draft but still in the middle of the transfer portal season, ESPN estimated UA would get the No. 3 seed in the West as the Pac-12's automatic qualifier. UCLA was given a No. 5 seed in the West while USC was listed as a No. 7 in the South.
Oregon (No. 9 in the East), Colorado (No. 9 in the West) and Washington State (First Four game in the East) were also listed from the Pac-12 while Stanford was listed as one of the first four teams out of the field.
By projecting UA would play first-weekend games at Salt Lake City, ESPN's Joe Lunardi essentially had the Wildcats playing all of their NCAA Tournament games within the Pac-12 footprint. West Region semifinal and final games will be played in Los Angeles, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Glendale.ย
In addition, Lunardi's offseason predictions implied that the Wildcats will be facing two No. 1 seeds (Duke and Michigan State) along with a No. 2 (Alabama) in nonconference play next season.ย
The Wildcats are scheduled to play at Duke on Nov. 10 and face Michigan State on Thanksgiving Dayย (Nov. 23) in Thousand Palms, Calif. They are scheduled to face Alabama on Dec. 20 in Phoenix.
Arizona will open the 2023-24 season at home against Morgan State on Nov. 6. After facing Duke, the Wildcats will play at Southern on Nov. 12 as part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series.
Arizona also has a scheduled Nov. 19 game against a team to be determined that will technically be part of a "multi-team event" that includes the Michigan State game, while the Wildcats are also expected to add one more home-and-home series with a high-major opponent.
