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We are a little over a month away from the NCAA Tournament. So it's about that time — Arizona Desert Swarm Bracketology is back with our debut for this 2016-17 season.
This debut arguably couldn’t come at a worse time for the Arizona Wildcats.
Before the weekend, the Wildcats were among the hottest teams in the country, having reeled off 15 straight victories and looking like a national championship contender. In this year’s college basketball landscape, few teams have been able to stay away from the upset. Only the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Villanova Wildcats have truly set themselves apart.
With a win on Saturday over the extremely talented Oregon Ducks, Arizona would do just that. Not only would they set themselves apart but they would also find themselves on the 1-line and a strong contender to stay there.
Well, Saturday didn’t exactly go as planned.
Oregon beat Arizona by 27. And the number 27 actually makes it sound much closer than it really was.
A 1-seed is off the table — for now. Without further ado, here’s how the bracket looks today:
Last four byes: Wichita State, Minnesota, Marquette, Clemson
Last four in: TCU, Wake Forest, Michigan, Georgia Tech
First four out: Miami (FL), Tennessee, California, Rhode Island
Next four out: Georgetown, Georgia, Seton Hall, Utah
We've got Arizona as a 3-seed this week. Although Bracketmatrix.com still has them as a 2-seed, as they factor in over 80 bracket projections across the country.
The Wildcats look to improve on that standing this week as they welcome the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears to McKale Center.
As for the Pac-12 as a whole, only four teams look like tournament teams right now: Arizona, Oregon, the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans.
Cal and the Utah Utes are just barely on the outside looking in at this point but each team still has one month of opportunities to play their way in to the field.