Selection Sunday might be the most anticipated day in sports, pro or college. The intrigue of the unknown is irresistible, whether it be for a bubble team desperate to hear its name called, or a blueblood aching to get a No. 1 seed, playing close to home.
For Arizona, there has rarely been a fear of being left out. Since 1985, it has only missed the field four times: 2010, 2012, 2019 and 2021 — all under Sean Miller.
The only times Arizona was clearly on the bubble were 1987 with an 18-11 team playing without injured point guard Steve Kerr, and in 2009, when interim head coach Russ Pennell’s club got a 12 seed, the last at-large club in the field. (The ’87 team lost a first-round overtime game to UTEP at McKale Center, 91-87, and the 2009 team stunned No. 5 Utah in the first round, then beat Cleveland State to advance to the Sweet 16, where it was taken apart 103-64 by Rick Pitino’s Louisville team.
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Jaden Bradley, second from right, and Tobe Awaka, far right, react to seeing that the Wildcats are headed to San Diego to face No. 16 LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament during Selection Sunday at Union Public House, 4280 N. Campbell Ave., on March 15, 2026.
Not every Big 12 team has been as fortunate as Arizona on Selection Sunday. Only Kansas, with 53 NCAA Tournament appearances, leads Arizona's 39 years. Here's how the Big 12 shakes out in NCAA Tournament history.
– 53 years: Kansas (117-51 record, national titles in 1952, 1988, 2008 and 2022)
– 39 years: Arizona (62-38 record, national title in 1997)
– 33 years: Cincinnati (46-32 record, national titles in 1961 and 1962)
– 32 years: Kansas State (40-36 record)
– 32 years: BYU (17-35 record)
– 31 years: West Virginia (32-31 record)
– 29 years: Oklahoma State (39-28 record, national titles in 1945 and 1946)
– 29 years: Utah (38-32 record, national title in 1944)
– 26 years: Houston (45-31 record)
– 24 years: Iowa State (24-24 record)
– 21 years: Texas Tech (22-22 record)
– 17 years: Baylor (24-18 record, national title in 2021)
– 17 years: Arizona State (15-18 record)
– 16 years: Colorado (13-18 record)
– 11 years: TCU (7-11 record)
– 5 years: UCF (1-5 record)
Arizona men's basketball's most shocking first-round NCAA Tournament losses
