Jason Timpf Makes His 2026 NCAA Tournament Pick

Arizona is -155 to win their region or make the Final Four, and they’re +350 to win the tournament.

Now, I grew up in Tucson, Arizona. There’s no major professional sports team there. We had the Tucson Sidewinders for a long time, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phoenix Suns, when I was very young, would occasionally come down and play a preseason game, but then they stopped doing that for a while. So the Suns didn’t really cater to the Tucson community very much.

It’s really just college town. It’s very much a University of Arizona town. When I was a kid, the city stopped for U of A basketball games in particular. The football team has been better as of late, but especially for basketball games.

I’ve rooted for a lot of really good Arizona teams, teams that had really high-end talent. A lot of blue-chip talent, whether it was Derrick Williams in the year that they ended up making it to the Elite Eight, or guys like Stanley Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Kaleb Tarczewski. A lot of really talented teams, but teams that were deeply flawed and, for the most part, underachieved under Sean Miller in the NCAA tournament.

 

Is This the Best Arizona Team of My Lifetime?

Tommy Lloyd has done a fantastic job of more heavily emphasizing college-ready talent. Not that there isn’t high-level NBA talent coming through the program, but there’s much more of an emphasis on finding basketball players who can play at this level.

I think this might be the best Arizona team of my lifetime.

Now, disclaimer, I was born in 1991, so I was six years old when the ’97 team won the title. I don’t remember anything about them. In 2001, I would have been 10, and I didn’t grow up in a basketball house. I didn’t really get into basketball until about five years after that.

The 1997 and 2001 teams may have been better than this team, but I just don’t really have any recollection of them.

This team, to me, brings the best combination of talent at all the levels of the roster.

Loaded Frontcourt Sets the Tone

Take Krivas, for example, an excellent rim protector who’s generating some NBA buzz because of his size at the rim at 7’2″. He’s a very gifted drop-coverage big, right? Krivas anchors the defense at the rim.

Then you have Tobe Awaka, who brings a different dimension – switchability, athleticism, physicality, and offensive rebounding. He’s a monster around the basket and gives you a different punch alongside Krivas, whether it’s in two-big lineups or single-big looks, which Arizona has leaned into more late in the season to emphasize three-point shooting.

So you’ve got this dominant front court.

I’d even add Koa Peat in there, too. He’s been up and down this season. Started really hot, then got really cold. He had a really big game against Houston. His ability to attack the basket viciously and get to the foul line has been very valuable to them as of late.

Guards and Role Players Bring Balance

Then you’ve got the guards.

At various points this season, Brayden Burries has been fantastic, then gone cold. He had a rough stretch during the conference tournament, but then he found it in a big way against Houston.

And then Jaden Bradley, he’s been around for a while. I liked him a lot when he was younger as more of a role player, but now he’s become one of the best guards. He literally won conference player of the year. Just this phenomenal guard who can get to his spots in the mid-range, who’s super competitive, who defends, who leads the team and keeps the team grounded in the moment.

So, they’ve got two awesome guards, this awesome front court, and then the in-between players are perfect.

Anthony Dell’Orso is a knockdown catch-and-shoot three-point shooter. He’s super competitive and has shown the ability to hit shots in intense environments.

Kharchenkov’s ability to get downhill against Houston and get to the foul line was huge. He can also shoot the three. Kharchenkov is a very good mid-range player. He can stop and pop in the middle of the floor. He’s very big and strong at his position.

Jason Timpf’s 2026 NCAA Tournament Pick

I think this is the best Arizona team of my lifetime. I’m super excited to watch them this year. I’m a little worried about them being with Acuff and Arkansas in their bracket, but I think this is their best chance to win in my lifetime.

I’m very excited.

Timpf’s Pick: Arizona -155 to win the West Region, +350 to win the tournament.

Alright, guys. That’s all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our contender rankings, our second-to last-contender rankings of the season. I will see you guys then.