Arizona men's basketball earns No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Wildcats to face Long Island in first round after winning Big 12 title

Mar. 16, 2026 at 9:22pm

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The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team earned the No. 1 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships. They will face 16-seed Long Island in the first round on Friday in San Diego.

Why it matters

Arizona is seeking its first Final Four appearance since 2001 and first national championship since 1997. The Wildcats have struggled in recent NCAA Tournaments despite strong regular season performances, losing in the Sweet 16 as a high seed multiple times. This year's team, led by Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley and Coach of the Year Tommy Lloyd, is looking to break through and make a deep tournament run.

The details

Arizona rolled through the nation's second-hardest schedule with a 32-2 record, winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. Long Island, the Northeast Conference champion, is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2018 under coach Rod Strickland. The Sharks are a guard-heavy team led by seniors Jamal Fuller and Malachi Davis, but will have a size disadvantage against Arizona's frontcourt of Koa Peat and Motiejus Krivas.

  • Arizona will face Long Island on Friday in San Diego.

The players

Jaden Bradley

The Big 12 Player of the Year for Arizona.

Tommy Lloyd

The Big 12 Coach of the Year and head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.

Tobe Awaka

The Big 12 Sixth Man Award winner for Arizona.

Jamal Fuller

A senior guard for Long Island, averaging 16.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Malachi Davis

A senior guard for Long Island, averaging 14.4 points per game.

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What they’re saying

“Everything's the same. We're not doing anything different this week. We're not going to practice any different this week.”

— Tommy Lloyd, Head Coach, Arizona Wildcats (azpbs.org)

“They've got a good coach, and he was a heck of a basketball player. I'm going to be honest, I don't know a lot about Long Island at this point, but over the course of the week, I'll definitely learn a lot more.”

— Tommy Lloyd, Head Coach, Arizona Wildcats (azpbs.org)

“The bracket is a little bit overwhelming. I just look at the game that we're going to play next.”

— Ivan Kharchenkov, Freshman Forward, Arizona Wildcats (azpbs.org)

What’s next

The winner of the Arizona-Long Island matchup will face the winner of the Purdue-Arkansas game in the second round.

The takeaway

Arizona is looking to finally break through and reach the Final Four for the first time in over 20 years, but they will have to navigate a tough West Region that includes several other conference champions and tournament contenders.