The Arizona Wildcats put the rest of the Big 12 — and college basketball — on notice Tuesday night with a resounding 81-70 victory over Baylor.
The Wildcats led 42-19 at halftime and 65-42 with 7 minutes to play. The Bears hit some shots late to make the game look much closer than it was. But make no mistake — Arizona put on a dominant performance against a team that came in ranked No. 20 in the country in the NCAA NET Rankings.
And it was a team effort. The Wildcats had 21 assists on 29 made field goals. Seven different players scored at least 8 points, with sophomore 7-footer Henri Veesaar leading the way off the bench with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Arizona Makes Jump In NET Rankings
Arizona (11-5, 5-0) has now won seven consecutive games and sits all alone in first place in the Big 12. It was their third Quad 1 victory of the season and moved them even higher in the updated NCAA NET Rankings.
The Wildcats jumped from No. 16 to No. 13 in the rankings — well inside the top-four seed line for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The team just behind them in the rankings, No. 14 Marquette, is currently projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team just ahead of them, No. 12 Kentucky, is projected as a No. 3 seed.
Arizona is the fourth highest-ranked Big 12 team in the NET, behind No. 3 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 6 Kansas. The Wildcats hit the road to play No. 21 Texas Tech on Saturday — another Quad 1 win opportunity.
A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NET, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET. The NCAA NET Rankings are used as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. A top-16 ranking in the NET typically correlates with a No. 4 seed or higher in the NCAA Tournament.
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