The Arizona women’s basketball team slid to No. 20 in the final AP Women’s Top 25 Poll before the NCAA Tournament, dropping six spots following its loss to Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
As a result, the UA is no longer a given to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, a privilege given to the top 16 teams.
Arizona is ranked 18th nationally in the NET Ratings system, the metric now used by the NCAA when it comes to seeding teams for the tournament. Taken on its own, the No. 18 ranking would make Arizona a No. 5 seed — and unlikely to host.
However, ESPN’s Charlie Creme has slotted the Cats as a No. 4 seed in Tucson, hosting Mountain West Conference champion UNLV in the first round. Arizona was seeded third — and projected to host — by ESPN before the Pac-12 Tournament.
The Wildcats (20-7) ended the regular season by losing three of their last six games, then scored a season-low 43 points in their 45-43 defeat to Colorado last Thursday.
The UA has been without All-Pac-12 player Cate Reese the last three games as she recovers from a dislocated shoulder. Coach Adia Barnes has said she expects Reese to be back for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona will find out its seed Sunday. ESPN’s selection show starts at 5 p.m.
