Arizona women’s basketball drops in AP poll after early exit in Pac-12 Tournament

If the latest Associated Press poll is any indication, Arizona women’s basketball hopes of hosting in the NCAA Tournament are far from a guarantee.

The Wildcats fell six spots to No. 20 in the latest poll, the largest fall of any ranked team. Arizona has fallen 12 spots over the last three weeks, reflecting three losses in its last four games. The UA fell to Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament last Thursday.

Arizona and No. 2 Stanford are the Pac-12’s only ranked teams. Oregon and Utah both received votes in the latest poll.

The Wildcats will need to be one of the 16 seeds in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee in order to receive a top four seed and host the opening two rounds of the tournament.

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme still has Arizona as a No. 4 seed in his March 7 projections.

If there’s any team that Arizona should be rooting to lose this week, it’s BYU. The Cougars are currently slated as the No. 5 seed in the Tucson pod, according to Creme. If BYU were to win the WCC Tournament, it might have a case for the last No. 4 seed.

The NCAA women’s basketball selection show is Sunday at 6:00 p.m. MST.