When Arizona was last in the L.A. area for the NCAA Tournament, Derrick Williams did this against Duke. Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today Sports
The NCAA Tournament selection show starts at 3 p.m. Tucson time on CBS, and for Arizona the drama is location more than seeding.
The Cats likely will be a fourth or fifth seed — not much difference there because a No. 1 seed awaits in the Sweet 16 either way — but Arizona would like to at least have the opportunity to stay close to home.
With the tournament’s pod system, Arizona should be sent to either San Jose or Salt Lake City to start its tournament run. There is no guarantee at all that the Cats will be in the West region, though, which is held in Los Angeles on the second weekend of the tourney.
Arizona’s crowd, as it was in Anaheim two years ago, could be a factor if the Cats were to make it that far.
The other regional final locations are Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Texas.
Arizona’s average bracket seeding on Sunday is a five seed, according to the Bracket Matrix, which compiles projections from all over the internet.
Here are some big media projections for Arizona:
CBSSports.com: No. 4 vs. South Dakota State in San Jose (Midwest Region)
ESPN.com: No. 5 vs. Belmont in San Jose (South Region)
SI.com: No. 5 vs. Akron in San Jose (West Region)
USA Today: No. 4 vs. South Dakota State in San Jose (West Region)