The Arizona Wildcats will play the llinois Fighting Illini in a home-and-home series for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 basketball seasons. Arizona announced the addition to the Wildcats' schedule Friday morning.
SCHEDULE UPDATE: We will play a home-and-home series with @IlliniMBB in the next two seasons, starting next year in McKale Center. #APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/Jpop3DdCHa
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) October 12, 2018
The series will begin next season on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, at McKale Center. The teams will meet again on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Champaign, Illinois.
Arizona has an 8-6 record all-time against the Illini. The last time these two played each other was during the 2006-07 season in the Hall of Fame Challenge in Phoenix, when the Wildcats won 84-72.
The previous contest was in the 2005 Elite Eight when Illinois overcame a 15-point lead to knock off the Wildcats in overtime.
"Since I came to Illinois in March 2017 I've talked about the importance of playing a great schedule," Illini head coach Brad Underwood said in a press release. "It's a win-win for everyone; these are the types of games that players want to play in, recruits want to be part of, and fans want to watch and attend. Arizona is a tremendous team, and there is a shared history between our two programs that will create quite a bit of excitement as the next two chapters of this series unfold in Tucson and Champaign."
