Arizona jumps past SEC teams in latest NCAA basketball rankings
The Arizona Wildcats are on the move.
After a tough nonconference schedule that resulted in a 4-5 start to the season, Arizona (9-5, 3-0) has won five consecutive games with the latest victory coming in a 75-56 rout of No. 21 West Virginia on Tuesday night.
The win avenged an overtime loss to West Virginia in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 29.
"Our guys have been getting better ever since the Bahamas," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after Tuesday's win. "Just kind of figuring it out. For me as a coach, helping them figure it out. And me obviously figuring out what we can do better, and then these guys take it upon themselves to be accountable for doing it on the court."
Arizona Jumps Again In NET Rankings
The Wildcats came into the game ranked No. 16 in the NCAA"s NET Rankings, and the win pushed them up to No. 14, ahead of SEC teams Kentucky (No. 15) and Texas A&M (No. 17).
The ranking is significant because the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET, which stands for the NCAA Evaluation Tool, as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Arizona now has two Quad 1 victories this season — and they came in its last two games (at Cincinnati, at West Virginia). The benefit of playing in the Big 12 means the Wildcats will have at least 10 more Quad 1 opportunities to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.
For comparison, Gonzaga only has one Quad 1 opportunity left on its schedule. The Zags are currently ranked No. 7 in the NET, but playing in the WCC gives them almost no opportunity to move up in the rankings.
A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NET, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET.
The Big 12 has six teams in the top 30 of the updated NET Rankings and nine in the top 50: No. 4 Houston, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 10 Kansas, No. 14 Arizona, No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 18 Baylor, No. 33 West Virginia, No. 35 Cincinnati and No. 50 BYU. Arizona State is just outside the top 50 at No. 51.
