Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa, right, went without his usual headband for the season opener Monday night.

 Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

Notes from the No. 17-ranked Arizona Wildcats' 117-75 win over Nicholls on Monday night in the season opener:

Global Cats

It’s no secret: Arizona will have a potpourri of players with international passports once again.

That was evident in the 17th-ranked Wildcats’ 117-75 win over the Nicholls Colonels in the season opener Monday night at McKale Center, when the UA rolled out a starting lineup of Kerr Kriisa (Estonia), Cedric Henderson Jr. (United States), Pelle Larsson (Sweden), Azuolas Tubelis (Lithuania) and Oumar Ballo (Mali) β€” a starting five of players from three continents.

Arizona also had a lineup of Tubelis, Larsson, Henri Veesaar (Estonia), Adama Bal (France) and freshman point guard Kylan Boswell (U.S.), who tallied five points, four assists, four turnovers and a rebound in his UA debut. Boswell, who reclassified from the 2023 recruiting class, was expected to miss a significant portion of the nonconference schedule due to rehab from foot surgery. But he entered the game for Kriisa, who picked up two quick fouls early in the first half.

Kriisa headband-less in opener

For the first time since the pandemic-influenced 2020-21 season, Kriisa played without his signature white headband.

When Kriisa suffered an ankle injury in the Pac-12 Tournament last season, a contingent of Arizona fans were given white headbands upon arrival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UA booster Paul Dias, who owns a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in Tucson, sat courtside at McKale Center on Monday and wore a white Nike headband.

Wildcats guard Cedric Henderson Jr. (45) makes a drive past Nicholls State Colonels guard Caleb Huffman in the second half.

SDSU to Pac-12 rumors flying

Amid the Pac-12’s future hanging in the balance with USC and UCLA bolting for the Big Ten in 2024, the β€œConference of Champions” could remain in the Southern California market, according to Fox Sports radio host Dan Patrick.

Patrick reported on the β€œDan Patrick Show” Monday morning that a deal to add San Diego State, which is currently in the Mountain West, could happen this week.

β€œThat is expected, at least according to my source, to be announced this week,” Patrick said.

That report was deemed inaccurate by Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic and by Pac-12 Hotline’s Jon Wilner.

β€œIt's been my understanding that the Pac-12 will do its media deal first before any conference expansion,” Auerbach tweeted.

Wrote Wilner in his latest Pac-12 football power rankings: β€œThe Pac-12 could very well invite San Diego State, but movement on that front is weeks, if not months away. Nothing will happen with regard to a Pac-12 media rights deal or expansion until the University of California Board of Regents gathers later this month to resolve the UCLA situation.”

Sick kicks

Ballo donned Nike Kevin Durant β€œSurrealism” 14s for his season-opening sneaker of choice. The light green and purple colorway pays homage to β€œsurreal artists” such as Salvador DalΓ­ and Frida Kahlo.

Numbers game

28/1: Odds for Arizona to win the national championship this season, according to BetOnline. The Wildcats’ odds dropped since April, when they had 18/1 odds. The previous odds released by BetOnline prior to Monday had the Wildcats at 22/1 to cut down the nets this upcoming April. Lloyd’s former team, Gonzaga, has the best odds (8/1) to secure the the national title, which would be the program's first.

22: Combined assists for Arizona’s starting lineup. Kriisa had a game-high seven assists, and the Wildcats overall had 30 assists on 38 made field goals.

23, 7, 6: Tubelis finished Monday with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, becoming the first Wildcat since Ivan Radenovic against Stanford in 2007 to reach that stat line in a game.

117: That’s the most points Arizona has scored in a game since the 1997-98 season, when the Wildcats scored 127 against Arizona State.

72: Wildcats shot 72% from the field, setting a program record for field-goal percentage. The original record was in 1984.

No. 17 Arizona thumped Nicholls 117-75 Monday night for the Wildcats' season opener at McKale Center. Pelle Larsson recorded his first-career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis led the Wildcats with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

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