With the start of the new college basketball season right around the corner, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has updated his bracket projections for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Lunardi writes that this latest update — published earlier this week — will be the final set of projections based on ESPN’s offseason algorithm. He also wrote that there are plans to rank every team in the country 1-363 in early November. “If you don’t like it, game results and real arguments are right around the corner,” he wrote of his latest bracket.

And that feels like a note pinged right to Arizona’s standing, because few seem to know what to make of the 2022-23 Wildcats. They’re the defending Pac-12 champions — sweeping the regular-season and conference tournament titles — and coming off a year where they were slept on in the preseason. So what has everyone done this preseason? Slept on the Wildcats again.

It’s understandable. The UA has to replace three NBA Draft selections who were all integral pieces of the title team last season — leading scorer Bennedict Mathurin, defensive anchor Christian Koloko, and hold-everything-together guard Dalen Terry. But head coach Tommy Lloyd has quickly established himself as one of the game’s best coaches and, given the offseason additions made, it feels like more of a reload than a rebuild in the desert.

Lunardi has the Wildcats as a 5-seed in the West Region.

In the same region, he slots UCLA as a 2-seed. Lunardi also has Oregon making the field as a 6-seed and USC making it in as a 9-seed. He has Stanford in his “first four out” category.

Here’s his bracket (Pac-12 teams are italicized):

  • LAST FOUR BYES: Memphis, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Wyoming
  • LAST FOUR IN: St. John’s, St. Mary’s, Florida State, Rutgers
  • FIRST FOUR OUT: Seton Hall, Stanford, Providence, Iowa State
  • NEXT FOUR OUT: Loyola Chicago, Wisconsin, Tulane, BYU

West Region

  • 1) Gonzaga vs. 16) Morehead State
  • 8) Miami vs. 9) Texas A&M
  • 5) Arizona vs. 12) Drake
  • 4) TCU vs. 13) Grand Canyon
  • 6) Michigan vs. 11) Oklahoma
  • 3) Arkansas vs. 14) Pennsylvania
  • 7) Texas Tech vs. 10) Iowa
  • 2) UCLA vs. 15) Purdue Fort Wayne

Midwest Region

  • 1) Kentucky vs. 16) Nicholls State/Howard
  • 8) UConn vs. 9) Virginia Tech
  • 5) San Diego State vs. 12) Florida State/Rutgers
  • 4) Creighton vs. 13) Toledo
  • 6) Alabama vs. 11) UAB
  • 3) Duke vs. 14) Colgate
  • 7) Michigan State vs. 10) Memphis
  • 2) Kansas vs. 15) Vermont

East Region

  • 1) North Carolina vs. 16) Winthrop
  • 8) Florida vs. 9) Oklahoma State
  • 5) Dayton vs. 12) Furman
  • 4) Villanova vs. 13) Towson
  • 6) Illinois vs. 11) St. John’s/Saint Mary’s
  • 3) Tennessee vs. 14) Iona
  • 7) Purdue vs. 10) Notre Dame
  • 2) Texas vs. 15) Montana State

South Region

  • 1) Houston vs. 16) Southern/Wagner
  • 8) Saint Louis vs. 9) USC
  • 5) Auburn vs. 12) Liberty
  • 4) Virginia vs. 13) UC Santa Barbara
  • 6) Oregon vs. 11) Wyoming
  • 3) Indiana vs. 14) Oral Roberts
  • 7) Xavier vs. 10) Ohio State
  • 2) Baylor vs. 15) Louisiana