All roads in college basketball lead to March Madness, but which Arizona colleges will make the tournament?
Arizona has four women’s college basketball teams that can qualify for the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament. Any team that wins its conference automatically qualifies for the tournament.
There are 32 conferences in women’s college basketball, and 68 teams make the March tournament. That means 36 teams are invited to the tournament based on their performance in the regular season even if they do not win their conference. These are referred to as “at-large” bids.
Here’s where each team stands as we approach March.
Arizona State University
ASU isn’t in the best position to make the tournament in March. The Sun Devils have eight wins and 14 losses, and a conference record of 2-8. Even if ASU were to win its remaining eight regular season games, that likely would not be good enough to earn an at-large bid.
ASU would have to win the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, which takes place March 5-9.
One silver lining for Arizona State s they only face one more ranked team the rest of the season and are in prime position to improve on last year’s 11-20 record.
Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University plays in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), one of the smaller conferences in college basketball. The WAC’s only representative in the March tournament will likely be the conference champion.
Good news for GCU—they’re 6-0 in the conference and 19-2 overall. The conference tournament runs March 12-15 in Las Vegas.
It’s simple for the Antelopes: Win the WAC and they’re in.
READ MORE: Here’s when and where to watch every University of Arizona women’s basketball game this season
Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is in a similar position to GCU. The Lumberjacks play in the Big Sky Conference. That’s another conference where the champion will likely be the only representative in the March tournament.
NAU is in second place in the conference with a 7-1 conference record and 16-5 overall record. Montana State University is at the top of the conference with eight wins and zero losses.
The Big Sky hosts its conference tournament in Boise, Idaho, on March 8-12. The Lumberjacks will most likely have to upset Montana State in the championship game to keep their season alive.
University of Arizona
The Wildcats are on the outside looking in right now, according to ESPN’s analysis of who would make the tournament if bids were delivered right now.
Arizona still has a month to improve their record and earn an at-large bid if they do not win the Big 12 tournament in March.
U of A is on a three-game win streak and holds a conference record of 5-4 and overall record of 14-8. That’s good enough for 10th in the Big 12. The Big 12 is a historically good conference, so it is likely many teams from the conference will make the March tournament.
Arizona already has one win over a ranked team. They beat No. 16 West Virginia 77-62, and they have the opportunity to bolster their record with games against ranked opponents Oklahoma State and Texas Christian University (TCU)before the regular season ends.
That game against No. 9 TCU is in Tucson, so be sure to get to the game if you’re a huge Arizona fan.
There are no guarantees teams get in without winning their conference, but the Wildcats could force their way into March Madness with a series of big wins in the last full month of the regular season.
