Bracketology 2023: Kansas, Houston among potential top seeds on watch

Bracketology 2023: Kansas, Houston among top seeds with big games

Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; The Kansas Jayhawks place their name as national champions on the bracket after their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four championship game at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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Bracketology Azuolas Tubelis #10 of the Arizona Wildcats (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

No. 8 Arizona 23-4 (12-4) vs. Colorado 15-12 (7-9)

Saturday, February 18, Tucson, AZ. 8:00 PM ET, ESPN2

Much like Tennessee, when No. 8 Arizona has stumbled this season, it has been a bit of a head-scratcher. Granted the Wildcats have suffered defeat just four times this year, but when they have it has seemingly come out of nowhere and been convincing. First, it was at Utah by 15, and then came a home tilt against Washington State where they only scored 61 points in a 13-point loss. Two games later they lost at Oregon by 19 and a week ago, they went into Palo Alto and lost to Stanford by nine.

Arizona has been one of those teams that have flipped between a No. 1 and No. 2 seed all year, so when they host Colorado on Saturday they best not have another head-scratcher if they want to remain in that No. 1 seed conversation. Now I know the losses to Oregon and Utah currently qualify as quad 1 losses, but in a resume comparison that is a bigger con for the Wildcats than a pro. The metrics see Arizona as the 9th best team in the country and the NET agrees, having them ranked 11th.

For Arizona to have a top seed in its sights, the only losses they can afford the rest of the year would be to UCLA because every other team in the conference is ranked 57th or lower. So, avoiding any more speedbumps on their way to the regular-season finale with the Bruins is imperative for Arizona’s No. 1 seed hopes.

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