NCAA Tournament: Arizona men’s basketball gets No. 2 seed in South, opens against Princeton

Arizona has earned the No. 2 seed in the South Region for the 2023 NCAA Tournament and will open against No. 15 Princeton in the first round Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.

The Wildcats (28-6) head into the Big Dance having won their second consecutive Pac-12 Tournament title, beating UCLA 61-59 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Princeton (21-8) qualified by winning the Ivy League tourney on Sunday.

Arizona is in the South Region for the second year in a row, getting the No. 1 seed there in 2022 before falling to Houston in the Sweet 16.

If Arizona beats Princeton it would face either No. 7 Missouri or No. 10 Utah State. Advance to the Sweet 16, which for the South would be in Louisville, Ky., and the Wildcats could face No. 3 seed Baylor.

Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed, is the South No. 1, while Virginia is the No. 4, San Diego State is No. 5 and Creighton No. 6.

The UA is 1-0 all-time against Princeton, beating the Tigers 54-41 in Tucson in 1985.

Arizona was one of four Pac-12 schools to make the 68-team field. UCLA is the No. 2 seed in the West Region, and like the Wildcats will play in Sacramento (opening against No. 15 UNC-Asheville), while USC is the No. 10 seed in the East and faces No. 7 Michigan State on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

And ASU was the second-to-last team to make it, and thus will face Nevada (and former UCLA coach Steve Alford) in a First Four game Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio for the right to advance as a No. 11 seed in the West against No. 6 TCU on Friday.