The No. 4 seeded Arizona Wildcats beat No. 13 Akron in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament on Friday night. This was Tommy Lloyd’s fifth victory in March Madness during his four seasons at Arizona. After beating the Zips, the Wildcats will now play the No. 5 Oregon Ducks in the round of 32 on Sunday at 9:40 p.m. ET. Lloyd attempts to lead the Wildcats to their third Sweet Sixteen in the previous four years.
Here is a future bet for the Arizona Wildcats to consider in the NCAA tournament.
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
Arizona to Win Men’s East Region (+800)
Although the Wildcats have been to multiple Sweet Sixteens recently, they haven’t been to a Final Four since the 2000-01 season. Arizona has not appeared in an Elite Eight in 10 seasons. Before the Wildcats can set their sights on a Final Four or an Elite Eight, they must get past No. 5 Oregon on Sunday. Oregon is a tough team, but depth has been a question for this Ducks’ team. If Henri Veesaar and Tobe Awoka can be physical and do not allow Nate Bittle to get anything easy, the Wildcats should be able to win.
If Arizona beats Oregon, they will face the winner of No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 BYU. Arizona went 1-1 against BYU this season while losing to Wisconsin earlier in the year. With the Wildcats’ familiarity with each opponent, they will have an easier time preparing. Although Wisconsin has been excellent recently, John Tonje has scored 15 or fewer points in their last two games. Tonje scored 41 points against Arizona in November, but if the Wildcats can contain him to 20 or fewer, they will have a good chance to win.
The toughest matchup in Arizona’s path to the Final Four would be facing Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils for a second time this season. Arizona lost to Duke 69-55 on November 22. Arizona shot it under 40 percent from the field in that game and 26 percent on three-pointers. If Arizona faces Duke again in the tournament, they must have an elite defensive performance while getting everyone involved on offense.
Yes, Arizona’s path to winning the East Region is tough, but they are still a great value play at +800 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Arizona will need to bring the same intensity and energy that they showed against Akron to have a chance to make their first Final Four in 24 years.
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
