UA-UW pregame: GameDay confirms Feb. 25 appearance at McKale

ESPN confirmed today it will host GameDay at McKale Center on Feb. 25 in advance of the UA-UCLA game Saturday at 6:15 p.m.

It’ll be the third time GameDay has been held at McKale and first time since before Arizona played UCLA on Feb. 21, 2015. UA beat UCLA 57-47 later that day, and didn’t lose again until Wisconsin beat the Wildcats in the Elite Eight.

Despite Washington’s struggles on the court, fans are still showing up at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, possibly because of Markelle Fultz’ presence. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, aggressive marketing is also helping.

The Huskies are averaging 8,079 fans to their 10,000-seat arena for Pac-12 games, including a sellout on Feb. 4 for UCLA and a possible sellout today against Arizona.

“I’m just really pleased with our support and our fans who have stuck with us this year,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said Friday. “We only have one left so they been pretty consistent but I’m sure Markelle helps with that. Last year I thought we had an exciting season even though it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to.

“I’ve been pleased, very pleased with our people coming out and supporting us. It’s been great.”

The Huskies aren't front-page news, however. Advance coverage of today's game didn’t make the front page of the Seattle Times sports section, which featured stories on the UW women, Seattle U women, high school sports, Mariners and the move of a UA football assistant to the Atlanta Falcons.

There was a small preview box on the game inside, while Percy Allen had an online-only story about what will likely be Fultz' last home game and Romar's decision of whether to play the suspended Malik Dime or not (UA is expecting Dime to play).

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ICYMI, SI's Luke Winn ran some numbers and found Arizona is better offensively with Allonzo Trier in the game but worse defensively. He ranks UA No. 7.

Our advance story on how the Wildcats may need Kadeem Allen to defend Fultz and Washington's motivation is attached, as is our scouting report. Allen (dislocated pinkie) and Ristic (sprained ankle) both were scheduled to practice at least in some form Friday but practices are closed to media and there have since been no updates on their status.

The school-produced game notes from Arizona and Washington.

Other Pac-12 games today:

Colorado at Oregon, 1 p.m. (FOX). The Buffs need another win over the Ducks to keep their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

ASU at WSU, 3 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

USC at UCLA, 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks). The Bruins will get a chance to make up for their offensive troubles against the Trojans last month.