NCAA Tournament: Arizona men’s basketball earns No. 1 seed in West Region, opens vs. Long Island
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The Road to Indianapolis will begin on the West Coast.
Arizona is the No. 1 seed in the West Region in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will open play Friday in San Diego against Long Island.
It is the eighth No. 1 seed in school history, first since 2021-22 in Tommy Lloyd’s first season, which also began with a trip to Viejas Arena.
The Wildcats (32-2) enter the Big Dance on a 9-game win streak, beating Houston for the Big 12 Tournament title after winning the regular season championship. They have 12 wins over ranked opponents, tied for the most entering the NCAA tourney in Division I history.
Long Island (24-10) won the Northeast Conference Tournament and are coached by former NBA star Rod Strickland. The Sharks last made the NCAA tourney in 2018.
Get past the opening round and Arizona will face either No. 8 Villanova or No. 9 Utah State on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16, its third in a row and fourth in five seasons. The West Regional will be held in San Jose, where the UA could see No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 12 High Point (and former UA guard Conrad Martinez) or No. 13 Hawai’i.
If Arizona reaches the Elite Eight it could face No. 3 Gonzaga, which would mean Lloyd would have to face his longtime mentor Mark Few, or No. 2 Purdue. Other potential regional final opponents include a third matchup with AJ Dybantsa and No. 6 BYU or possibly No. 11 Texas, which is in the First Four and coached by Sean Miller.
Arizona has played Long Island once before, in 1951, winning by one point at the old Bear Down Gym. The Wildcats have twice played from the NEC in the NCAA tourney in the first round, beating Saint Francis (Pa.) in 1991 and Robert Morris in 1989.
