Here's a look at the teams Arizona will play early in the 2021-22 season.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Date/time/TV: Nov. 9, 8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Arizona
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: UA leads 100-27
Coach: Shane Burcar (22-30 in two years at NAU and overall)
Last season: 6-16 overall; 4-10 Big Sky (10th)
Go-to guy: G Jalen Cone (Virginia Tech transfer, 9.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
Key returnees: F Nik Mains (Sr, 8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg), F Carson Towt (So., 5.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg), F Keith Haymon (Jr., 6.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg), G Isaiah Lewis (Jr., 4.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg), G Jay Green (Jr., 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
Other key newcomers: C Ezekiel Richards (Sr., Santa Clara transfer, 1.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg), G Jayden Jackson (freshman)
Upside: Cone led the ACC in 3-point percentage (45.7) as a freshman and is expected to be an explosive scorer in the Big Sky. The brother of UA walk-on Jordan Mains, Nik Mains, was a 40.5% 3-point shooter last season.
Downside: The Lumberjacks lost their two best players to the transfer portal — Cameron Shelton (19.2 ppg) headed to Loyola Marymount and Luke Avdalovic (10.8 ppg) went to Pacific.
He said it: “I don’t blame them (Shelton and Avdalovic). Nobody’s mad at each other. You have to upgrade your roster every year and I think we’ve done that..” — Burcar, to Blue Ribbon Yearbook
Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros
Date/time/TV: Nov. 12, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: Arizona has never played the school now known as UTRGV, but is officially 1-1 against what was Texas-Pan American, one of two schools along with Texas-Brownsville that merged into what is now UTRGV.
Coach: Matt Figger (first year at UTRGV, 76-51 overall)
Last season: 9-10 overall; 2-5 WAC (7th)
Go-to guy: G Quinton Johnson (9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Other key returnees: F Marik Nelson (Jr., 7.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg), F Jeff Otchere (Sr., 5.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg), G Laquan Butler (Jr., 9.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg).
Key newcomers: G Mike Adewunmi (Sr., SIU Edwardsville transfer, 13.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg), F Justin Johnson (Sr., Southern Miss transfer, 5.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg), F Sai Witt (Jr., D-II transfer), G BJ Simmons (So., juco transfer)
Upside: Figger has a proven track record, going 49-25 against Ohio Valley opponents as Austin Peay’s head coach and receiving the OVC’s Coach of the Year award in 2017-18. Johnson could be an all-WAC performer after being named honorable mention last season.
Downside: The Vaqueros may still be recovering from the shocking death of 55-year-old coach Lew Hill just hours after he coached them in a loss to Texas Southern on Feb. 6. They went 1-6 after to finish last season after he died.
He said it: “I think there’s a willingness to learn, and that’s what you should have when you have older guys on your team. We’re not a young team… we’re inexperienced playing together but we’re not young. That majority of our guys are 21 years old or so. That helps more than you can imagine.” — Figger, to Vaquero Radio.
North Dakota State Bison
Date: Nov. 16, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: UA is 1-0 against the Bison, winning 83-53 in their only previous meeting on Dec. 18, 2017.
Coach: David Richman (136-87 in seven years at NDSU and overall).
Last season: 15-12 overall; 11-5 Summit (3rd)
Go-to guy: F Rocky Kreuser (Sr., 15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
Other key returnees: G Sam Griesel (Jr., 11.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg), G Tyree Eady (Jr., 11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg), G Jarius Cook (So, 9.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg), G Maleeck Harden-Hayes (So., 8.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Key newcomers: G Andrew Kallman (Sr., D-II transfer), G Willie Guy (So., juco transfer)
Upside: The Bison return eight of their top nine scorers, a rarity at any level of Division I these days, promising to be one of UA’s better home nonconference opponents.
Downside: By low-major standards, there isn’t a lot of weakness on the Bison’s roster. But as an add-on opponent to the Las Vegas Main Event, NDSU will have to play at UNLV on Nov. 15 and then visit McKale Center the next night.
He said it: “Continuity means everything. If you look at college basketball, it’s never about one-and-dones. We are seeing a change. Look at Baylor last year. Their roster had some older guys.” — Richman, to Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Main event, Game 1
Wichita State Shockers
Date/time/TV: 8 p.m., ESPNU
Game location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Series history: UA is 1-2 against Wichita State, with the teams defending their home courts in a pair of 1950s games. In the last matchup, the Shockers beat the Wildcats 65-55 in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Coach: Isaac Brown (16-6 in one year at Wichita State and overall).
Last season: 16-6 overall; 11-2 American Athletic (1st)
Go-to guy: G Tyson Etienne (Jr., 16.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.5 apg).
Other key returnees: F Morris Udeze (Jr., 10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), G Dexter Dennis (9.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg), G Ricky Council (So., 7.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg), F Monzy Jackson (Jr., 5.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Key newcomers: F Joe Pleasant (Jr., Abilene Christian transfer, 10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), G Qua Grant (Jr., D-II transfer), C Kenny Pohte (freshman from Sweden).
Upside: Brown steered the Shockers through a rough transition, with previous head coach Gregg Marshall resigning in November 2020 in the wake of investigation into verbal and physical abuse. The Shockers won the AAC regular-season title while Brown was named the league’s coach of the year — and then Etienne opted to return after testing the NBA Draft.
Downside: Plenty of talent returns but six newcomers could make it tougher for Brown to mesh this group. Shockers were also one of D-I’s worst 2-point shooting teams, making just 44.6% of their shots within the arc last season.
He said it: “I like what we’ve got right now. We gotta play fast. I keep telling our team, `In order to be a good offensive team, you’ve got to push the ball in transition. You don’t want to go against a set defense all the time. … We got a lot of guys who can get out and run. They can jump, they can handle the ball.” — Brown, after Wichita State’s preseason “Shocker Madness.”
Main event, Game 2
Date/time/TV: Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. or 10 p.m., ESPN or ESPNU
Game location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Michigan Wolverines
Series history: UA 8-2 against Michigan, having last swept the Wolverines during a home-and-home series played in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Coach: Juwan Howard (42-17 in two seasons at Michigan and overall)
Go-to guy: C Hunter Dickinson (So., 14.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
OR
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
Series history: UA is 9-12 against UNLV all time and was 3-2 during a hard-fought set of games during the Sean Miller era. UNLV won in double-overtime at McKale Center in 2009-10, and handed UA one of only four losses during the Wildcats’ Elite Eight season of 2014-15. UA won in 2013-14, 2015-16, and 2017-18.
Coach: Kevin Kruger (first season at UNLV and overall)
Last season: 12-15 overall; 8-10 Mountain West (tie, 7th)
Go-to guy: G Bryce Hamilton (Sr., 17.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg).
Sacramento State Hornets
Date/time/TV: Nov. 27, 5:30 p.m., Pac-12 Arizona
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: UA and Sacramento State have never played each other.
Coach: Brian Katz (150-232 in 13 years at Sacramento State and overall)
Last season: 8-12 overall; 5-9 Big Sky (9th)
Go-to guy: G Bryce Fowler (Sr., 13.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.8 apg).
Key returnees: G William FitzPatrick (Sr., 9.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G Zach Chappell (Jr., 7.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg), F Samaad Hector (Jr., 4.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg), G Deshaun Highler (Jr., 5.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg).
Key newcomers: G Cameron Wilbon (Robert Morris transfer, 5.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg), G Marcus Greene (freshman), G Akili Evans (freshman).
Upside: The Hornets have a veteran roster and a veteran coach, plus a potential all-leaguer in Fowler, a product of Avondale’s Agua Fria High School. That’s enough to make some noise in the Big Sky.
Downside: The Hornets lack depth and size upfront and their defense was one of the worst in Division I nationally last season. They allowed opponents to shoot 56.0% from two-point range and 36.6 from beyond the arc.
He said it: “I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses but I’ll say this: Every coach, every team, every player, every official in the country was affected by COVID. That being the case, we do feel like we got a little bit of an unlucky draw.” — Katz, after the Hornets had six league games canceled and played only one against a team with a losing record, to Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Wyoming Cowboys
Date/time/TV: Dec. 9, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: UA leads the series with its former WAC rival 20-15, but hasn’t played the Cowboys in 17 years. Arizona beat Wyoming 98-70 on Nov. 30, 2004 at McKale Center.
Coach: Jeff Linder (14-11 in one season at Wyoming, 94-61 in five seasons overall)
Last season: 14-11 overall; 7-9 Mountain West (8th)
Go-to guy: F Hunter Maldonado (Jr., 12.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.6 apg)
Other key returnees: G Xavier DuSell (Fr., 9.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg), F Graham Ike (Fr., 11.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), F Jeremiah Oden (Fr., 4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg), G Kenny Foster (So., 9.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), G Drake Jeffries (Jr., 7.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg), F Hunter Thompson (Jr., 7.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg).
Key newcomers: G Deng Dut (Jr., juco transfer), F Brendan Wenzel (So., Utah transfer, 0.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg), G Noah Reynolds (freshman), G Ben Bowen (freshman), F Nate Barnhart (freshman)
Upside: In his first season as a head coach in 2016-17, Jeff Linder took a lightly regarded Northern Colorado team into McKale Center and scared the Wildcats, with UA leading by only four points with 8:33 left — and in 2018-19 won the Big Sky’s Coach of the Year award.
Downside: After the Cowboys’ offense improved significantly last season, they return an all-league candidate in Maldonado, and more depth overall. But Marcus Williams, who led the Cowboys in scoring last season and was the Mountain West’s Freshman of the Year, transferred to Texas A&M.
He said it: “Sometimes my identity as a coach is on the offensive end, but if you look at our teams at Northern Colorado, we were elite defensively in a lot of areas. For us to be a top-100 or top-50 team in the country at this level, you have to be able to do it on both ends of the floor..” — Linder, to WyoSports.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Date/time/TV: Dec. 11, 3 p.m., Ch. 11
Game location: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Series history: UA leads 9-6, having won three straight since the Illini famously came back from a 15-point deficit with four minutes left to force a 2005 Elite Eight game into overtime, and then beat the Wildcats 90-89 in overtime. Arizona beat Illinois 90-69 on Nov. 10, 2019 in the first game of the current home-and-home series; the return game was scheduled to be played in 2020-21 but both teams agreed to move it to this season because of COVID-19 concerns.
Coach: Brad Underwood (71-56 in four seasons at Illinois, 180-83 in eight seasons overall)
Last season: 24-7 overall; 16-4 Big Ten (2nd)
Go-to guy: C Kofi Cockburn (Jr., 17.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg).
Other key returnees: G Andre Curbelo (So., 9.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), G Trent Frazier (Sr., 10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg), F Da’Monte Williams (Sr., 5.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), F Jacob Grandison (Sr., 4.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg), F Coleman Hawkins (So., 1.4 ppg, 0.8 rpg), G Austin Hutcherson (Jr., DNP/back injury).
Key newcomers: G Alfonso Plummer (Sr., Utah transfer, 13.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg), G Brandin Podziemski (four-star freshman), C Omar Payne (Jr., Florida transfer, 3.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg), F Ramses “RJ” Melendez (four-star freshman), F Luke Goode (four-star freshman)
Upside: The Illini lost do-everything guard Ayo Dosumno from what was the No. 2 ranked team in the final Associated Press Top 25 entering the NCAA Tournament last season, but the team is still loaded. Not only did dominant center Kofi Cockburn opt to return instead of leaving for the NBA, but highly regarded guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams came back for super senior seasons — and Underwood also pulled in three Top 100 players plus prolific ex-Utah shooter Alfonzo Plummer.
Downside: Illinois will have something to prove after folding in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Loyola-Chicago, and the biggest obstacle might be for Underwood to re-build chemistry with a new staff. Two assistants (Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman) left for Kentucky and another (Stephen Gentry) went to Gonzaga to replace Tommy Lloyd.
He said it: “Ayo was a dominant figure. But how our pieces come together, … once you start putting the score up, things become a little bit different. Guys have (issues with) their role identification. Some guys become a little unsettled. I don’t think that’ll be the case with our group. We have a lot of very good players, and I’m excited to get that group on the court.” —Underwood, at Big Ten media day, according to The Athletic.
Northern Colorado Bears
Date/time/TV: Dec. 15, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: Arizona leads 3-1, with a loss at Greeley in 1959-60 but wins in Tucson in 1961-62, 2010-11 and 2016-17. In the last matchup, a 71-55 UA win, Parker Jackson-Cartwright (13 points, 11 assists) and Lauri Markkanen (17 points, 13 rebounds) had their first career double-doubles to help the Wildcats hold off the Bears, who trailed by just four points with 8:33 left.
Coach: Steve Smiley (11-11 in one season at Northern Colorado and overall)
Last season: 11-11 overall; 6-8 Big Sky (tie, 7th)
Go-to guy: G Bodie Hume (Sr., 15.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Other key returnees: G Daylen Kountz (Sr., 14.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg), G Matt Johnson (Sr., 13.0 ppg, 3.0 apg), F Kur Jongkuch (Sr., 10.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg), G Tre’Shon Smoots (Jr., 6.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.3 apg), F Bryce Kennedy (So., 2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg), F Jamel Melvin (So, 1.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg), C Theo Hughes (So., 0.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg).
Key newcomers: G Dalton Knecht (Jr., juco transfer), G Dru Kuxhausen (Sr., McNeese State transfer, 11.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg), G Trent Hudgens (So., Santa Clara transfer, 1.6 ppg, 0.3 rpg), G Bailon Black (freshman), G Zach Bloch (freshman)
Upside: With a potential league MVP in Hume plus a deep cast of returnees that include former Colorado guard Daylen Kountz, the Bears can at least seriously challenge for the Big Sky title. They ranked 50th in 3-point percentage defense last season (31.2) and should be at least as tough on the perimeter this time.
Downside: The Bears struggled inside the arc last season, becoming among the Big Sky’s worst teams in 2-point percentage (47.7), percentage of shots blocked (8.3) and offensive rebounding percentage (23.7) in league games.
He said it: “You want to promise less, deliver more, right? But we do think we’ve got a chance to be really good.” — Smiley, to Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Cal Baptist Lancers
Date/time/TV: Dec. 18, 4 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game location: McKale Center
Series history: UA has never played Cal Baptist, despite planning to do so last season. The Lancers arrived in Tucson to play UA on Dec. 16, 2020 but then received a positive COVID-19 test within its program; the game was canceled and rescheduled for this season.
Coach: Rick Croy (50-35 in three seasons at Cal Baptist and overall)
Last season: 13-10; 6-6 WAC (4th)
Go-to guy: G Ty Rowell (Jr., 15.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Other key returnees: G Reed Nottage (Jr., 14.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), G Tre Armstrong (Jr., 11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg), F Elijah Thomas (Sr., 10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg), F Malik Wade (So., 3.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg), G Mark Carbone (Sr., 6.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg), G Tyree Campbell (So., 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg).
Key newcomers: F Chance Hunter (Sr., Long Beach State transfer, 12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), F Dan Akin (Sr., UMBC transfer, 7.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg), C Pavel Zahkarov (Jr., Gonzaga transfer, 0.8 ppg, 0.4 rpg), G Keanu Rasmussen (freshman from Australia), Taran Armstrong (freshman from Australia).
Upside: The Lancers will continue let it fly after hitting 39.5% from 3-point range against Division I opponents last season, the fifth-best mark in the country. Ty Rowell returned from an ACL tear last season to make first-team all-WAC, shooting 39% from 3 against D-I teams while leading the conference in assists per game at 5.8.
Downside: The Lancers need to shoot well to protect themselves from what happens on the other end of the court. They were one of the country’s 40 worst defensive teams last season, allowing opponents to shoot 37.8% from 3 while ranking among the worst in defensive turnover percentage (16.1) plus block (5.8) and steal (6.4) percentages. They also don’t have the incentive of the NCAA Tournament, being still one year away from full Division I status.
He said it: “We’ve got great shooters. Our offense starts with the ability to spread the floor. And I think where we can grow is we’ve got more depth, we’ve got more versatility. I think we’re going to be able to come at people in waves. And we want to be an improved defensive team. We’ve got to put it all together this year and we feel we have the depth to do that.” — Croy, to WAC Digital Network.
Tennessee Volunteers
Date/time/TV: Dec. 22, 5 p.m., ESPN2
Game location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Series history: Arizona has only beaten Tennessee once in four tries, but the teams have not met in 23 years. On Nov. 13, 1998, the Wildcats edged the Vols 73-72 at the B.C.A. Classic in Albuquerque thanks in part to 26 points from Jason Terry.
Coach: Rick Barnes (123-73 in six seasons at Tennessee, 727-387 in 34 seasons overall).
Last season: 18-9 overall; 10-7 SEC (4th)
Go-to guy: G Kennedy Chandler (five-star freshman)
Key returnees: G Victor Bailey Jr. (Sr., 10.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg), F Josiah Jordan-James (Sr., 8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg), F John Fulkerson (Sr., 9.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), G Santiago Vescovi (Jr., 8.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg), F Olivier Nkamhoua (2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg).
Other key newcomers: G Justin Powell (Jr., Auburn transfer, 11.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg), F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (five-star freshman), F Jonas Aidoo (four-star freshman), G Jahmai Mashack (four-star freshman), G Quentin Diboundje (three-star freshman from France), C Handje Tamba (three-star freshman from Democratic Republic of Congo).
Upside: The Vols add the nation’s top-rated point guard in the class of 2021, Kennedy Chandler, to a veteran group that includes a particularly deep backcourt. Super senior John Fulkerson is a mainstay inside in what was the No. 5 rated team in defensive efficiency last season, while former UA assistant coach Justin Gainey came from Marquette to replace one of two assistant coaches who left.
Downside: For a program with arguably some of the SEC’s best talent, Tennessee went out with a thud last season. The Vols lost five of their final nine games last season, losing to Oregon State by 14 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, to finish with 18-9 record. A strong freshman class is ratcheting up expectations more.
He said it: “I think I have the best coaching staff in the country. They have bonded extremely well with the players. I think it has helped with competition … If we do what we like to do, we expect to go very deep into our bench. We can play at a pace that we have been working at and continue that pace.” — Barnes, at SEC Media Day.
