The calendar has flipped to 2026 but Arizona remains unbeaten, one of six Division I schools without a loss. The Wildcats’ 13-0 start is its best since 2013-14, when they won their first 21 games. Going unbeaten through one of the toughest nonconference slates in the country is something to be proud of, and it’s […]
The calendar has flipped to 2026 but Arizona remains unbeaten, one of six Division I schools without a loss. The Wildcats’ 13-0 start is its best since 2013-14, when they won their first 21 games.
Going unbeaten through one of the toughest nonconference slates in the country is something to be proud of, and it’s why the UA has been No. 1 in the last three Associated Press polls. But this season, like all others, will ultimately be judged more on how things go in March (and hopefully April) than November and December.
And the real road to the postseason begins Saturday when Arizona opens its second season of Big 12 Conference play at Utah (8-5).
A 5-0 start to the Big 12 season helped set the tone for the Wildcats to earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reach another Sweet 16. They last lost their league opener in 2022-23, which happened to be in Salt Lake City.
Here’s what to watch for when Arizona and Utah open Big 12 play:
Continued improvement
Arizona has won its last eight games by at least 20 points, tied with the 1928-29 team for the longest streak in school history. That run included wins over ranked Auburn and Alabama teams, the latter in Birmingham, and a 68-45 win over San Diego State where the offense struggled for much of the night yet it still ended up being a blowout.
“I feel like the month of December, we got a lot better,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I feel like we’ve really improved since the UCLA game. I think we’re a different team, and that’s exciting, because that’s what the build should be about.”
The way the Big 12 schedule is set up, Arizona isn’t scheduled to play a team projected by KenPom.com to finish in the top half until late January. Utah is the lowest-ranked team in the conference, at No. 126.
“I feel good going into Big 12 play now, but we’re 0-0 now going into that,” freshman Koa Peat said. “We’re going to keep getting better each and every day.”
Freshmen firsts
Arizona has played a true road game already, winning at UConn, and the Alabama game was more or less an away atmosphere. But there’s something about playing on the road in conference play that brings a different vibe.
The only other freshman to start a conference road game under Lloyd is Carter Bryant, who did so last season at Kansas State and had eight points and 11 rebounds in a 3-point loss. But that was the seventh Big 12 road game, not the opener.
The last UA freshman to start a conference opener on the road was Dalen Terry, who started the 2020-21 opener at Stanford and had more fouls (three) than points (two) in 16 minutes in a 3-point loss. And the year before the trio of Josh Green, Nico Mannion and Zeke Nnaji were also on the losing end of their first league road tilt.
The last time Arizona won its first conference road game while starting a freshman was 2019, when Brandon Williams had 12 points in a 5-point win at Stanford.
About the Utes
Utah has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and probably won’t be dancing this season based on how it fared in nonleague play. The Utes have lost five of eight since a 5-0 start and are dead last in the Big 12 in defensive efficiency.
First-year coach Alex Jensen, a Utah alum who had a double-double against the UA in the infamous 1998 Elite Eight game, has one of the top scorers in the Big 12 in junior guard Terrence Brown. The transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson is averaging 21.5 points per game and gets to the line a lot, drawing more than seven fouls per contest.
Rice transfer Keanu Dawes averages 12.2 points and 9.2 rebounds and shoots 82.8 percent on 2-pointers, and the Utes shoot better than 36 percent from 3.
But the Utes do not defend the paint well, which should play right into Arizona’s hands.
Category: General Sports
