NCAA tournament expert predicts low seed for Arizona Wildcats

Since the calendar flipped to the new year, the Arizona Wildcats (15-6, 9-1) have been one of the best teams in college basketball.

The Wildcats have won 11 of their last 12 games, are in first place in the tough-as-heck Big 12 and are coming off an impressive Quad 1 victory over Iowa State.

Consider CBS Sports college basketball expert Jerry Palm unimpressed.

Palm, who has been in the business of predicting the NCAA tournament field for more than 20 years, is clearly unmoved by Arizona's 9-1 Big 12 record or No. 11 ranking in the NCAA NET.

In his latest Bracketology update, Palm has Arizona slotted as a No. 6 seed in the East Region — the same seed line as Michigan, a team who recently lost to Minnesota.

Arizona's NCAA NET Ranking

The Wildcats are flirting with a top-10 ranking in the NET, and they could get there with another big week.

Arizona has two Quad 1 games on the schedule this week: at No. 33 BYU on Tuesday night and at home vs. No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday. A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NCAA NET Rankings, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET.

Arizona is currently No. 11 in the NET, which typically correlates to a No. 4 seed or better in the NCAA tournament. Last season Creighton finished No. 11 in the NET and received a No. 3 seed in the tournament.

Arizona already has five Quad 1 wins, and could have seven after this week. Last season Arizona finished with nine Quad 1 wins and received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Because of the strength of the Big 12, Arizona could easily finish the regular season with nine Quad 1 wins. Including this week's game, the Wildcats have at least six Quad 1 opportunities remaining.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament.

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