The outlook for Arizona women’s basketball in the NCAA Tournament remains bright.

Adia Barnes, the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team, initially expressed reservations about the prospect of participating in the new Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, preferring to aim for the NCAA Tournament instead. She emphasized that once a team has experienced the NCAA Tournament, returning to lesser tournaments is not as appealing. However, it appears that Barnes won’t need to worry about that scenario now.

The outcome of last Sunday’s Pac-12 Tournament title game was poised to reflect positively on the Wildcats regardless of the result. Had Stanford emerged victorious, Arizona could have boasted about facing and competing against both the regular season and tournament champions. Alternatively, had USC won, Arizona could have highlighted their strong performance against the tournament champions, having provided them with two of their toughest games over the last week.

Simply participating in the Pac-12 and achieving an overall winning record, along with nearly .500 in league play, was a significant accomplishment for the Wildcats. The Pac-12 was widely regarded as the top league in the nation this year, as evidenced by various metrics such as NET, RPI, ELO, and human polls, all of which showed unanimous agreement on the conference’s strength.

Arizona’s strength of schedule was particularly notable, ranking second highest in the nation after UCLA. The Pac-12 teams dominated the top spots in strength of schedule rankings, showcasing the formidable competition within the conference. Despite facing numerous challenging opponents, Arizona managed to win over half of their games and put up a strong fight against other top teams.

In terms of NET rankings, Arizona currently sits at No. 35, second among the Pac-12 teams considered for NCAA Tournament bids. While Washington State ranks slightly higher at No. 29, their loss of key player Charlisse Leger-Walker may impact their chances. The selection criteria for the tournament include personnel availability, which has historically influenced decisions.

Among the other Pac-12 contenders, Washington and California trail behind Arizona in NET rankings. Head-to-head matchups and NET rankings could play a significant role in determining tournament bids, especially considering the competitiveness of the conference.

Projections from ESPN, The Athletic, and Her