No. 2 Arizona earns No. 1 seed in a West Region that includes Purdue, Gonzaga and Arkansas

By Canadian Press on March 15, 2026.

No. 2 Arizona can add a No. 1 seed to its impressive resume.

The Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the West Region — second overall behind Duke — and will open the NCAA Tournament against Long Island University on Friday in San Diego.

The West also includes No. 2 seed Purdue, Gonzaga, Arkansas and Wisconsin in a region that goes through San Jose, California, on the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

The Wildcats haven’t been to the Final Four since 2001, but have the type of team that could end that streak.

Arizona (32-2) has a big, balanced roster that’s had seven different leading scorers and a defense that’s as physical as any in the country. The Wildcats opened the season by knocking off reigning national champion Florida and kept taking down ranked opponents all season.

Arizona beat 15 teams that were ranked at the time — that’s 46% of its wins — and rolls into the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak since its only two losses of the season. The Wildcats took down No. 7 Iowa State on Jaden Bradley’s buzzer beater in the Big 12 semifinals and outlasted No. 5 Houston 79-74 in the title game to sweep the Big 12 championships their second season in the league.

“They’re just resilient, you know? And they just have this unbreakable spirit,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after cutting down the nets in Kansas City. “These guys do an amazing job of figuring it out in tough moments.”

Long Island beat Mercyhurst 79-70 to win the Northeast Conference tourney title and gets the daunting task of playing Arizona.

Star power

The West Region will be loaded with star players.

Arizona has the Big 12 player of the year in Jaden Bradley, along with stellar freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries.

No. 6 BYU boasts the nation’s leading scorer and potential No. 1 overall pick A.J. Dybrantsa, who averaged 25.3 points per game. The Cougars will face the First Four winner between N.C. State and Texas.

Purdue point guard Braden Smith was a preseason AP All-American and is one assist shy of matching former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley’s all-time mark. The No. 2 seed Boilermakers open the bracket against Queens — in its first NCAA Tournament — on Friday in St. Louis.

Southeastern Conference champion Arkansas was led by dynamic guard Darius Acuff Jr., the first player since Pete Maravich in 1970 to lead the conference in scoring and assists in the same season. The No. 4 seed Razorbacks play Hawaii, which is in the bracket for the first time since 2016, in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday.

Gonzaga, making its 26th straight NCAA Tournament under coach Mark Few, is led by big man Graham Ike, who 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Zags open against Kennesaw State Thursday in Portland.

High-scoring opener?

Wisconsin has been known playing stifling defense and a methodical offense. The Badgers (24-10) are playing a different kind of ball this season.

Led by guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, Wisconsin averages 83 points per game, highest since the 1970-71 team averaged just over 85.

The fifth-seeded Badgers will likely need to put up some points against No. 12 seed High Point (30-4).

The Panthers are in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, in large because of their prolific offense. High Point was third nationally in scoring at 90 points per game and has a school-record 30 wins after beating Winthrop 91-76 for its second straight Big South Conference Championship title.

Villanova’s ride

Villanova had been one of the nation’s most consistent programs under Jay Wright, but has labored since he took his designer suits to TV.

The Wildcats failed to reach the NCAA Tournament three straight years after Wright’s retirement, costing coach Kyle Neptune his job following last season.

Kevin Willard has bought Villanova (24-8) back. He took over the job after leading Maryland to the Sweet 16 last season and has the Wildcats back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their 2022 Final Four run. Eighth-seeded Villanova faces No. 9 seed Utah State Thursday in Portland, Oregon.

“I think it’s a really big first step,” Willard said. “When you take over a job with this much history and this much tradition, as I look at all the players around, getting back to be a winning program, and getting everybody to understand that this is every year we’re expected to be in the NCAA Tournament.”

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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

John Marshall, The Associated Press

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