North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region a year after being left out of the bracket.

The fifth-ranked Tar Heels will open March Madness just down the road in Charlotte on Thursday against First Four winner Wagner, which beat Howard on Tuesday.

“To be given an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament is a big deal,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “I know the importance of being able to play close to home, so playing in Charlotte for potentially the first two rounds and being closer to our fans is a big deal for us, but it’s just fun coming into the tournament.”

The West also includes Arizona, Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State on the road to Los Angeles for the regional final.

North Carolina found itself in a rare position in Davis’ second season a year ago, going from preseason No. 1 to watching the NCAA Tournament from home.

Behind RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, the Tar Heels opened this season at No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and steadily climbed the polls, reaching No. 3 for a three-week stretch.

North Carolina went 27-7 overall and 17-3 to win its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in seven years before losing to North Carolina State 84-76 in the ACC tournament championship game.

Davis was stellar in his senior season, leading the ACC with 21.4 points per game. Bacot continued to dominate in the paint, averaging 14.1 points and 10.2 rebounds. Both played in the 2022 national championship game.

The Tar Heels also got a big lift from Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram and sharpshooter Cormac Ryan to sweep rival Duke.

Beware Wildcats

Arizona is a No. 2 seed for the second straight season. The ninth-ranked Wildcats are hoping for a better outcome than last year, when they were bounced by No. 15 seed Princeton in the first round.

Arizona (25-8) is certainly built to make a much deeper run.

The Wildcats have size, depth and are the nation’s third-highest scoring team at 87.9 points per game. They also have Caleb Love.

The North Carolina transfer was stellar during his lone season in the desert, earning Pac-12 player of the year honors while leading the Wildcats with 18.1 points per game.

Arizona opens the 2024 bracket against Long Beach State on Thursday in Salt Lake City. The Beach won the Big West tournament less than a week after the school announced it was parting ways with coach Dan Monson after 17 seasons.

High-scoring Tide

Arizona isn’t the only high-scoring team in the West.

No. 4 seed Alabama is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season under coach Nate Oats, including a trip to the Sweet 16 a year ago.

The 19th-ranked Crimson Tide score a nation’s best 90.8 points per game and have four players who average double figures, led by Mark Sears’ 21.1 points.

Alabama opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Charleston (27-7) on Friday in Spokane, Washington.

Battling Bears

Baylor got bounced from the Big 12 tournament with a poor-shooting 76-62 loss to Iowa State, but did enough during the regular season to earn a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Led by Ja’Kobe Walter and RayJ Dennis, the Bears (23-10) had wins against Iowa State, Auburn, No. 17 Kansas and No. 21 BYU during the regular season. Baylor won the 2021 national championship and is looking to make a deep run after being knocked out in the second round the past two seasons. The Bears open the 2024 bracket on Friday against No. 14 seed Colgate (25-9) in Memphis.

The rest

Saint Mary’s proved to be the best team in the West Coast Conference, ending No. 18 Gonzaga’s four-year run as tournament champion. The 15th-ranked Gaels (26-7) are the West’s No. 5 seed and will face WAC champion and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon (29-4) on Friday in Spokane. Behind high-scoring big man DaRon Holmes II, Dayton (24-7) is back in the bracket for the first time since 2018 as the West’s No. 7 seed.

Associated Press’s Aaron Beard contributed to this story.

West Region predictions

Winner: Arizona.

Why? The West seems like the regional most likely to not have a No. 1 seed representing it in the Final Four, and it’s second-seeded Arizona that is arguably the best team in the regional. The Wildcats have KenPom’s eighth-ranked offense and 12th-ranked defense. They should cruise by Long Beach State and then have a dangerous potential second-round opponent in a Dayton team that can really shoot. Still, in an Elite Eight matchup vs. No. 1 North Carolina, Arizona likely would be favored. That alone makes the Wildcats the pick to win.

Upset pick: Grand Canyon.

Why? It’s everyone’s favorite, a 12-over-5 upset pick, but there’s good reason. Bryce Drew’s Antelopes are really good. Tyon Grant-Foster is the name to watch. Grant-Foster started at Kansas, transferred to DePaul, and ended up at Grand Canyon, where he’s posting 19.8 points and six rebounds per game. St. Mary’s plays really good defense, so scoring will be tough to come by, and the Gaels are a favorite (5.5 points), but Grand Canyon is a candidate to make it to the second weekend.

Dark horse: Michigan State.

Why? We mentioned North Carolina being the weakest No. 1 seed. Well, how about facing Tom Izzo in the second round? The Spartans are 19-14, hardly impressive, but their metrics have been solid all season and they’ve lost a lot of close games. Plus, there’s some local flavor in Archbishop Carroll’s A.J. Hoggard, a Coatesville native.

— Jeff Neiburg, Philadelphia Inquirer