Arizona slipped two spots to No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll , and the Wildcats may also be slipping out of the zone for a preferential top four seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats have lost four of their last six games to drop to 19-10 overall and 13-5 in the Big 12, where they are tied for second place with Texas Tech (22-7, 13-5), four games behind conference champ Houston (25-4, 17-1).

Iowa State guard Nate Heise (0) dunks ahead of Arizona forward Carter Bryant, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.

CBS' updated bracket projection now has UA a No. 6 NCAA Tournament seed, a spot that would mean Arizona would be less likely to open in Denver. Top four seeds lead four-team pods, often to the location closest to them.

ESPN has not updated its bracket projections since before the Wildcats lost at Iowa State 84-67 on Saturday while the Bracket Matrix average has UA as No. 4, with a scattering of No. 3 and No. 6 seeds from individual projections within.

In the AP poll, Auburn and Duke remained 1-2 at the top, while Houston moved up one spot to No. 3 and Iowa State barely extended its streak of Top 10 rankings to 25 weeks when the Cyclones dropped one spot to No.10 despite losing at Oklahoma State last week.

Reminded that he said Iowa State would have something for Arizona after the Wildcats’ Jan. 27 win, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said the Cyclones shoot well at home but credited the Wildcats for avoiding a blowout loss on March 1, 2025 at Ames, Iowa.

Among other UA opponents this season, Wisconsin dropped one spot to No. 12 while BYU (21-8, 12-6) jumped over UA into the No. 23 spot from No. 25.