Always on the hook for exhibition games regardless of opponent quality, Arizona men’s basketball season-ticket holders will get some extra value this season.
Thanks to a new NCAA rule allowing teams to face Division I teams in exhibition games, Arizona will bring in Saint Mary’s for an Oct. 18 exhibition at McKale Center.
The exhibition game, which has been agreed to but not yet formally announced, will also return former Wildcat forward Paulius Murauskas to McKale. Murauskas transferred to Saint Mary’s following the 2023-24 season and became the WCC’s Newcomer of the Year last season.
Former Arizona forward Paulius Murauskas, shown playing for Saint Mary’s against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles last season, will return to McKale Center for a UA-Saint Mary’s exhibition game on Oct. 18.
Even though the game won’t count, Saint Mary’s is the second-highest-level nonconference opponent UA will host at McKale next season after Auburn. The Gaels, which finished 29-6 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, were a frequent opponent of the Wildcats in closed scrimmages during the Sean Miller era.
The Wildcats will also balance the preseason out by playing Embry-Riddle, a member of the NAIA Great Southwest Athletic Conference, on Oct. 27 for their second and final exhibition game.
Arizona will open its regular season against defending national champion Florida in Las Vegas on Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. Arizona time (4 p.m. in Las Vegas). The game is the first of a Hall of Fame doubleheader that will also feature BYU against Villanova at 7:30 p.m. Arizona time.
Ticket prices for the doubleheader range widely, starting at $53.13, and are available via hofseries.com.
Ex-Cats impacting Eurobasket
Former Wildcat Pelle Larsson led Sweden into its first FIBA EuroBasket round of 16 game.
After former UA wing Pelle Larsson led Sweden to its first-ever round of 16 appearance in the FIBA Eurobasket tournament before it was eliminated Saturday, fellow former Wildcat Lauri Markkanen led Finland to a shocking 92-86 win over Serbia and Nikola Jovic in a round of 16 game Saturday.
Markkanan, who played for the Wildcats during the 2016-17 season, had 29 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Finland, while Jovic had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.
FIBA’s official EuroBasket X account called it “one of the biggest upsets in the history of basketball,” while Jovic credited Finland for playing well.
“From the start we didn’t come ready,” Jovic said.
Also Saturday, another former Wildcat, forward Azuolas Tubelis, collected a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Lithuania into the quarterfinals with an 88-79 win over host Latvia.
Lithuania’s Azuolas Tubelis (10) tries to stop former Arizona teammate Pelle Larsson (9) of Sweden during a 2025 FIBA EuroBasket game.
Meanwhile, Larsson had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists to help Sweden nearly pull off a stunner Saturday against Turkey.
Sweden led 43-37 at halftime before Turkey outscored it 26-23 in the third quarter and stayed ahead the rest of the way. But just reaching the round of 16 game was something of an upset win for Sweden.
Though Sweden sat in a three-way tie with Montenegro and Great Britain at 1-4 for the final Group B slot into the round of 16, it reached the slot because it had the best overall point differential between the three teams. In one Group B game, Tubelis and Lithuania beat Sweden just 74-71.
“Unbelievable feeling,” Larsson said after Sweden qualified. “We wrote history and we can be very proud. For the first time, the kids in Sweden will be able to watch Eurobasket (bracketed games) and see their own country.”
During the Sweden-Lithuania game, Tubelis also had a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) while Larsson had 18 points and five rebounds in that game. Tubelis and Larsson played together on UA coach Tommy Lloyd’s first two Arizona teams, in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
While playing in five of Sweden’s six Eurobasket games, Larsson averaged 18.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 45.5% (25.8% from 3).
After six games so far, Markkanen is averaging 26.0 points and 8.2 rebounds for Finland (4-2) while Tubelis is averaging 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds for Lithuania (5-1).
UA jumps in on top 2026 player
Lloyd has made progress recruiting another of his former USA U19 players, with 247 reporting that Georgia high school guard Caleb Holt is expected to visit Arizona.
Ranked No. 5 in the class of 2026 in 247’s latest player rankings, Holt is visiting Kentucky this weekend and is also scheduled to visit Auburn and Alabama. According to 247, Houston is also a “serious factor.”
One of only four 2026 players to make USA Basketball’s U19 team earlier this summer, Holt averaged 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 63.6% (52.0% from 3-point range) over USA’s seven-game romp to the gold medal in Switzerland in July.
Holt and UA freshman Koa Peat won gold both in the U19 World Cup this year and the U17 World Cup last year.
UA freshman Koa Peat (left) and UA recruiting target Caleb Holt (6) celebrate their gold medals from the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland last July.
Fall practices in session
After returning for fall semester classes, the Wildcats have returned to team workouts for four hours a week, with extra conditioning and individual work on the side.
The Wildcats will be allowed to hold full-length practices the week of Sept. 22, since NCAA rules allow them to begin exactly six weeks before a team’s regular-season opener.
