NCAA Tournament Selection Committee rankings: Arizona gets surprising seed

The Wildcats are viewed as one of the top college basketball teams in the country

Arizona Wildcats guard Anthony Dell’Orso (3) shoots a three pointer over Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) during the first half at McKale Center. / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

With Selection Sunday just five weeks away, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee released its top 16 rankings during its Bracket Preview Show on CBS Saturday morning.

The rankings are released to give college basketball fans an idea of who the top teams in the country are in the eyes of the only people that matter — the 12-person Selection Committee.

After releasing its top 16 teams, the committee placed the teams into four regions to mirror what the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket might look like.

Arizona Gets Surprising Seed

Despite being ranked No. 13 in the country in the latest AP Top 25 and Coaches Polls, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee views Arizona as one of the 12-best teams in the country.

Arizona is ranked No. 12 by the committee and is seeded No. 3 in the East Region. The top four seeds in the East are Duke, Tennessee, Arizona and St. John's.

Arizona is one of five Big 12 teams in the top 16. The other four are No. 8 Houston, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 15 Houston.

Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Florida.

Here are the full rankings from the committee.

Seed list

1. Auburn
2. Alabama
3. Duke
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Texas A&M
7. Purdue
8. Houston
9. Iowa State
10. Kentucky
11. Wisconsin
12. Arizona
13. Texas Tech
14. Michigan
15. Kansas
16. St. John’s

South
1. Auburn (1)
2. Texas A&M (6)
3. Wisconsin (11) 
4. Texas Tech (13) 

Midwest
1. Alabama (2)
2. Purdue (7)
3. Iowa St. (9)
4. Kansas (15)

West
1. Florida (4)
2. Houston (8)
3. Kentucky (10)
4. Michigan (14)

East
1. Duke (3)
2. Tennessee (5)
3. Arizona (12)
4. St. John’s (16)

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