Arizona would receive a No. 4 seed in the West Region if Selection Sunday were now, according to the NCAA Tournament selection committee's announcement Sunday.
However, getting to the Final Four under that scenario might mean the Wildcats would have to avenge their 89-64 loss to Purdue at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Sweet 16. The Boilermakers were given the West's No. 1 seed.
For the second straight year, the committee released the top four seeds in each region four weeks before the Selection Sunday announcements.
After the announcements, CBS's Jerry Palm estimated the rest of the brackets and added of Arizona that he was "surprised they were seeded this high."
The Wildcats lost to UCLA to put their "top four" status in jeopardy, though they beat USC on Saturday to improve to 20-6 overall. They were given the No. 15 seed overall, according to the committee, while Oklahoma picked up the No. 16 seed.
Virginia was given the top No. 1 overall seed. The top four seeds in each region as announced Sunday:
East (Boston)
1. Villanova
2. Dukeย
3. Texas Tech
4. Ohio State
South (Atlanta)
1. Virginia
2. Cincinnati
3. Michigan State
4. Tennesseeย
Midwest (Omaha)
1. Xavier
2. Auburn
3. Clemson
4. Oklahoma
West (Los Angeles)
1. Purdue
2. Kansas
3. North Carolina
4. Arizona
