Arizona has invited Morgan State back to McKale Center to open next season on Nov. 6, after earlier adding a Thanksgiving Day game with Michigan State instead of playing in the Wooden Legacy event.
If Morgan State's appearance at McKale Center last season was any indication, the opener might not be an easy warmup for the Wildcats' trip to play at Duke on Nov. 10 and at Southern on Nov. 12. The Bears actually led most of the first half before UA went on to a 93-68 win on Dec. 22, thanks in part to 26 points from Azuolas Tubelis and 21 from Oumar Ballo.
As of now, the Wildcats' early 2023-24 schedule also includes a Nov. 19 home game against a team yet to be determined, and a Dec. 20 game against Alabama in Phoenix.
However, there won't be any Pac-12 games in early December. Because the college basketball schedule breaks late next season -- Selection Sunday won't be until March 17 -- the Pac-12 is scheduling teams to play all 20 conference games after Christmas.
Arizona's Nov. 19 game, scheduled to be against a low-major opponent, will technically be part of a two-game "multi-team event" that also includes the Michigan State game. The Wildcats and Spartans will play on Thanksgiving at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California.
A Michigan State booster, Greg Williams, runs a financial technology and insurance company that owns naming rights to the arena, which is currently hosting the Tucson Roadrunners for an AHL hockey playoff series against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Wildcats were open for Thanksgiving week after pulling out of the Wooden Legacy, which is being moved from Anaheim, Calif., to Las Vegas and might have BYU and others in line to play. Arizona had last participated in the event during the 2019-20 season, winning it by beating Pepperdine, Penn and Wake Forest.
UA coach Tommy Lloyd is expected to split his time this weekend between Nike and Adidas events during the first open evaluation weekend of the spring.
The Adidas "3SSB" event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, will feature Gilbert Perry's Koa Peat, a longtime UA recruiting target who is playing for the Adidas-sponsored Compton Magic.
UA class of 2024 commit Jamari Phillips is scheduled to play in the Nike EYBL event outside of Atlanta for PG (Paul George) Elite 17U.
The EYBL circuit is also scheduled to stop in Mesa next weekend.
