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Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) goes to the bucket past Tennessee forward Uros Plavsic (33) in the first half of their game at McKale Center.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

A little bit of old, a little bit of new. 

The common denominator in No. 9 Arizona's 75-70 against sixth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday is that big-time college basketball was played at McKale Center. 

The Wildcats wore the uniforms that pay homage to the late 1990s and early 2000s Arizona teams, which were debuted this season against Indiana in Las Vegas. The last time the UA wore those uniforms in McKale Center was during the 2006-07 season, in a 81-66 loss to the UCLA Bruins, which was also Lute Olson's last game as head coach at Arizona's home arena. 

Arizona guard Kylan Boswell (4) helps haul up forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) after he got flattened and sent skidding to the sidelines against Tennessee in the second half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 17, 2022.

In that game, forward Marcus Williams and point guard Mustafa Shakur each had 17 points and star freshman Chase Budinger tallied 13 points and center Jordan Hill had a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. UCLA was led by Josh Shipp's 24 points and point guard Darren Collison's double-double of 17 points and 15 assists. Russell Westbrook played five minutes off the bench for the Bruins. 

Each fan on Saturday also received a red glow stick in their seats and fans in each section alternated between red and white T-shirts for a "stripe out." The fall semester just ended for UA students, so the Zona Zoo was used for the general public. 

The last time ... 

Arizona's win over Tennessee marked the Wildcats' first triumph over a Top-10 nonconference opponent at McKale since 2014-15, when the UA took down ninth-ranked Gonzaga 66-63 in overtime. Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was on Gonzaga's bench as Mark Few's top assistant coach that day.

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd reacts after talking with Tennessee coach Rick Barnes during the first half of their game at McKale Center on Dec. 17, 2022.

Faces in the crowd

Saturday night brought a few notable faces to McKale Center. Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura, wide receiver Jacob Cowing and offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll were in attendance. 

Longtime Arizona season-ticket holder Phyllis Goodman won a musical chairs competition during a timeout break in the second half.

Former Sean Miller-era Arizona assistant Justin Gainey was on Tennessee's bench as an associate head coach to Rick Barnes. 

Arizona Wildcats guard Dalen Terry (4), left, guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) and guard Justin Kier (5) getting talk to the members of the press during a conference prior to the team's shoot around the day before going against Wright State Raiders in a first round game in the NCAA Tournament, San Diego, Calif., March 17, 2022.

Three-stripe lifestyle

When Dalen Terry and Bennedict Mathurin were at Arizona, they had access to some of the best gear Nike had to offer. Now the only swoosh they'll don publicly is on their NBA uniforms. 

Mathurin, who was the sixth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers, and Terry, the No. 18 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls, were announced as the newest members of Adidas.

The brand revealed its 12-player rookie class on Friday. Mathurin and Terry join Keegan Murray (Kings), Jabari Smith (Rockets), Nikola Jovic (Heat), MarJon Beauchamp (Bucks), Ousmane Dieng (Thunder), Walker Kessler (Jazz), Johnny Davis (Wizards), Jalen Williams (Thunder), Isaiah Mobley (Cavaliers) and Blake Wesley (Spurs). Terry and Mobley played AAU ball with Compton Magic, a renowned Adidas-sponsored travel ball club. 

Other Adidas-sponsored NBA players include Damian Lillard, James Harden, Trae Young and Derrick Rose. Former Wildcat Gilbert Arenas was signed to Adidas during his NBA career. 

Mathurin, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in November, is averaging 18.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game off the bench for the Wildcats in his rookie year. Terry has appeared in 11 games for the Bulls and has also spent time in the G League. 

“I remember I bought my first pair of shoes when I was 12 years old, and they were the 'Adidas Superstar,'” Mathurin told Andscape.com's Nick Depaula. “Someone sold them to me for $40, and I would play basketball with them at the park or rock them with jeans and sweats. My mom gave me $40 to pay for something at school, and I bought a pair of shoes.”

Future Cat helps team to big win

Future Arizona Wildcat KJ Lewis helped his high school team to a big win Friday.

In a battle of No. 1 versus No. 2 (in MaxPreps.com's top 25 rankings), Arizona signee KJ Lewis helped Duncanville High School (Texas) knock off top-ranked Roselle Catholic (New Jersey). 

The four-star shooting guard, who is originally a Tucson resident and transferred to Duncanville in Dallas after three seasons at El Paso Chapin, scored 15 points against Roselle Catholic in "Hoopfest in Paradise" in the Bahamas on Friday. 

Duncanville was recently stripped of its 2022 Class 6A Texas state championship, after the Panthers were discovered to play an ineligible player during its title run last season. Duncanville is also unable to participate in the postseason this year and head coach David Peavy is suspended for the season.

Although Duncanville can't participate in the state playoffs in Texas this season, the Panthers have strung together wins over nationally-ranked Centennial (California), Columbus (Florida) and Notre Dame (California). 

Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) flexes after drawing an and-one against Tennessee in the second half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 17, 2022.

Numbers game

10 million: Before tipoff, Arizona in-game host Sarah Kezele presented an autographed basketball to Earl Mendenhall III, who is the 10th million fan to attend a UA basketball game at McKale. 

3: Charges drawn by Arizona against Tennessee; Pelle Larsson had two and Kerr Kriisa had one in the first half. 

0: The game after setting a season-high 51 bench points, Arizona's reserves didn't score a point as a unit. Tennessee had 29 bench points. 

24-27: The Wildcats shot 24 for 27 from the free-throw line free on Saturday. Tennessee was just 8 of 10.

15: Arizona had 15 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds; Tennessee had nine offensive rebounds, but just two second-chance points.  

McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.

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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports