It’s confirmed: Arizona will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.
It might have been a different story if the Wildcats (23-11) hadn’t lost to Arizona State on the last day of the regular season. And, of course, there would have been no debate at all if UA had managed defeat Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament final to grab an automatic bid.
The Buffaloes held on to win 53-51 when Kyle Fogg’s pressured 3-pointer wasn’t close at the buzzer.
Arizona awaits the NIT selection show, which will be shown on ESPN at 6 p.m. PT. Here is a blank bracket.
The NCAA selection committee took only one at-large team from the Pac-12, as Cal joined Colorado in the Big Dance. Colorado was placed as an 11th seed against No. 6 UNLV. The 12th-seeded Bears are part of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, matched up against South Florida. The winner of that game gets fifth-seeded Temple.
Related: Christopher Wuensch: NIT could be good fit for Arizona