The Arizona Wildcats may not have a sexy resumé for the NCAA Selection Committee to look at, but the team has won eight of their last ten games and has done so without two of their primary players off the bench. With an RPI in the high-60's, average strength of schedule and a record of 6-8 against the RPI top-100, the UA cannot feel safe come Selection Sunday.
It seems like most current bracket projections have the Wildcats going dancing in March, but their seeding has fluctuated a bit in recent weeks. The latest update from SB Nation has Arizona among the very last few teams selected.
According to SB Nation, the 'Cats would be the 67th team (out of 68) invited to the tournament as a 13-seed and would face Northwestern in the Opening Round. The winner would move on to face Wichita State in First Round, with a potential matchup against Florida State or BYU for a chance to go to the Sweet 16.
With the depth issues that Arizona can have, it would be very beneficial to avoid having to play an extra game in the opening week.
Assuming nothing bizarre happens in the next week around the country -- i.e. every top-seed in the smaller conference tournaments loses, giving a ton of auto-bids to non-bubble schools -- the belief is that the UA needs to beat ASU on Sunday and win at least one game in the Pac-12 Tournament to solidify their resumé. That should be very doable, and a trip to the conference championship game would only help their chances going forward.
For more on the Wildcats, head on over to AZ Desert Swarm.