Arizona Wildcats' March Madness Journey Begins

0:00On March 19th, Arizona Wildcats earned their eighth number one seed in school history after a dominant season, topping the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament. They beat five ranked teams in their first nine games, the first squad to do that in the Associated Press Pole era, and racked up 12 wins over. Ranked opponents before the NCAA tournament, including six against top 10 foes and five from the top five. Now they face number 16, Long Island Friday at 10.35 a.m. Pacific time in the first round. That resume makes Arizona one of the top betting favorites to claim the national title, sitting at 32 wins and two losses. Long Island comes in at 24 and 10, but the Wildcats hold at 99.6% win probability according to Kenpom. Players like senior Anthony Del Orso call it, do or die, stressing respect for every opponent. Rich Tommy Lloyd and his 26 straight tournament appearance dating back to his Gonzaga days,

1:00once the team to stick to their normal game, plan with no big changes. Upsets have happened before, like when his 16 seed toppled Purdue in 2023, right after Arizona fell to Princeton as a top seed. Long Island has never won an NCAA double, a.m. dropping their last two in the first four back in 2016 and 2018. Players on his past first round games as a number one seed have been blowouts, with their closest call, 9 points in 2014. Expect a pro Wildcat crowd at Vahas Arena, though underdogs always draw some cheers as the sharks chase a bit of March magic.