Arizona has completely new projected opponents for the first two rounds of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in the first bracketology of February, updated by Joe Lunardi of ESPN on Tuesday. As expected, Arizona remains the projected top overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Lunardi projects Arizona to play Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader Merrimack in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Merrimack has 14 wins and nine losses overall and leads the MAAC with 10 wins and two losses. Merrimack is 212th in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.
Lunardi projects Iowa as the eighth seed and SMU ninth in the same pod as Arizona and Merrimack.