The Wildcats were placed just behind top-ranked Florida, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Illinois and No. 4 UConn, but they’ll host the Huskies on Nov. 18 at McKale Center — and have a total of at least 10 other games out of their 34-game regular-season schedule against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25.
Eight UA opponents are ranked lower than the Wildcats, including Houston (10), Arkansas (12), St. John’s (13), Kansas (17), Iowa State (18), Texas Tech (19), UCLA (22) and BYU (25). Arizona will face Houston and BYU twice in Big 12 games, while the Wildcats could also face BYU in a nonconference game during the Thanksgiving-week Maui Invitational.
Arizona has only two rotation players back from its Final Four appearance last season, but a strong incoming class that includes five-star freshman Caleb Holt, North Carolina transfer guard Derek Dixon and Washington transfer guard JJ Mandaquit.