Arizona and Wisconsin will meet at McKale Center on Dec. 9 next season as part of a two-year home-and-home series, giving the Wildcats their first crack at the Badgers since successive Elite Eight losses to them in 2014 and 2015.
The Wildcats will return the game at Wisconsin's Kohl Center on Nov. 15, 2024.
"We are excited to bring a high-level program like Wisconsin to the McKale Center," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said in a UA statement. "Coach (Greg) Gard and his staff do a great job putting together a strong team that competes near the top of the Big Ten every year. We know they will come in here and give us their best shot and we look forward to doing the same the following year in Madison."
Arizona is 2-5 overall in seven previous matchups with Wisconsin, most notably losing 64-63 in overtime during a 2014 Elite Eight game and 85-78 the following season. Both Elite Eight games were West Regional finals, the 2014 matchup in Anaheim and the 2015 game in Los Angeles.
The teams also split a pair of earlier NCAA Tournament games, with Wisconsin beating the Wildcats 66-59 in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament at Salt Lake City and Arizona beating Wisconsin 94-75 in the first round at Philadelphia in 2006.
Of the other games, Wisconsin beat UA 65-61 in the 2009-10 Maui Invitational, and 104-77 in a 1996 game at Los Angeles. The Wildcats beat the Badgers in their first-ever meeting, 51-46, in Madison during the 1962-63 season.
While the Wildcats are expected to replace four starters from last season, Wisconsin returns all five from a team that advanced to the NIT semifinals last season in Las Vegas. The Badgers, which ran the 26th slowest tempo in Division I, finished 20-15 and ranked No. 61 by Kenpom.
Arizona's 2023-24 schedule to date:
Nov. 6 Morgan State at McKale Center
Nov. 10 at Duke
Nov 12 at Southern
Nov. 19 low-major TBA at McKale Center
Nov. 23 Michigan State at Thousand Palms, Calif., 2:30 p.m. (Fox)
Dec. 9. Wisconsin at McKale Center
Dec. 20 Alabama at Phoenix
NOTE: Most times/TV and all Pac-12 games TBA.Β All Pac-12 games will be played after Christmas in 2023-24.
