For a second straight year, the West Regional in the men’s NCAA Tournament is in the Bay Area, bringing four of the remaining 16 teams to San Jose in 2026.
Last year’s eventual champion, Florida, came through Chase Center for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Could this year’s winner take a similar path through Northern California?
This year’s group features the West’s top team, a First Four surprise, three Naismith Award semifinalists and a repeat from last season’s quartet.
Here are the top storylines about the four teams visiting SAP Center Thursday night, with the winners advancing to Saturday’s game with a Final Four spot on the line:
ARIZONA WILDCATS
Seed: No. 1
Coach: Tommy Lloyd
Record: 33-2
How they got here: Beat No. 16 Long Island 92-58 and No. 9 Utah State 78-66
Storylines: The Wildcats have been one of the nation’s top teams all season long as they seek their first Final Four appearance in 25 years. This is the fourth time in five years under Lloyd that they are a top-two seed in the NCAA Tournament. … Arizona’s offense is orchestrated by Naismith semifinalist Jaden Bradley, the former top Alabama recruit who was the Big 12 player of the year in his third year since moving to Tucson. Flanking him in one of Division I’s top attacks are two freshmen: sharpshooter Brayden Burries and power forward Koa Peat. … The Wildcats were battle-tested in the Big 12, winning the conference tournament by beating NCAA No. 2 seeds Iowa State in the semifinal and Houston in the final. They have won 11 straight after suffering their only two losses of the season to Kansas and Texas Tech.
Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a layup against Carson Schwieger #22 of the Queens University of Charlotte Royals during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 20, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Seed: No. 2
Coach: Matt Painter
Record: 29-8
How they got here: Beat No. 15 Queens 104-71 and No. 7 Miami (FL) 79-69
Storylines: The second-round win over Miami was Painter’s 500th win at Purdue after succeeding the legendary Gene Keady in 2005. He has now taken the Boilermakers to 11 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, reaching the final in 2024, one year after becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose an opening-round game to a No. 16. … His roster is stacked with experienced players, led by a senior trio of Braden Smith — the NCAA all-time leader in assists — Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, all of whom have been in West Lafayette for their whole college careers. … The Boilermakers have stabilized in the postseason after losing four of their last six regular-season games. They won the Big Ten tournament, beating NCAA No. 1 seed Michigan in the final.
Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) reacts after the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against High Point, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
Seed: No. 4
Coach: John Calipari
Record: 28-8
How they got here: Beat No. 13 Hawaii 97-78 and No. 12 High Point 94-88
Storylines: John Calipari’s high-scoring crew returns to the Bay Area for the Sweet 16, but with a different look to the roster. Freshman guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, both top-15 recruits, headline this year’s Razorback roster. … Acuff was the SEC player of the year and led Arkansas to a conference tournament championship with a 30-point, 11-assist performance in the title game against Vanderbilt. He also took over in the second-round win over High Point, scoring 36 points with six assists, going 11-of-13 from the free throw line. …. Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond are two major contributors who returned from last year’s Sweet 16 team that lost an overtime thriller to Texas Tech at Chase Center.
Camden Heide #5 of the Texas Longhorns attempts a shot while being guarded by Tyon Grant-Foster #7 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
TEXAS LONGHORNS
Seed: No. 11
Coach: Sean Miller
Record: 21-14
How they got here: Beat No. 11 NC State 68-66 (First Four), No. 6 BYU 79-71 and No. 3 Gonzaga 74-68
Storylines: It’s difficult to paint a school as big as Texas — with a coach being paid $4.8 million — as a Cinderella, but the Longhorns are the lowest-seeded team remaining in the field. … Tramon Mark’s jumper with just over a second left got them into the 64-team field last Tuesday night against NC State, then they took down top recruit AJ Dybantsa and BYU behind a double-double from Matas Vokietaitis in the first round. Saturday’s thrilling back-and-forth upset of Gonzaga made them the first team in five years to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16. The turnaround came after losing five of six entering the tournament … Coach Sean Miller is in his first season in Austin and previously led Arizona from 2009 until 2021, so an Elite Eight matchup would be rife with drama. … Guard Dailyn Swain leads the Longhorns in points (17.4 per game), rebounds (7.5) and assists (3.5) after following Miller from Xavier as a transfer.