Electric on-campus UA-Wisconsin battle a rare event these days

After top-ranked Arizona smoked his team Saturday before an electric crowd at McKale Center, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard credited Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd for helping make the game happen.

But those on hand might also want to tip a cap Gard’s way, too. Because the two head coaches had the sort of conversation that just doesn’t happen that often anymore in college basketball between head coaches in different power conferences.

They agreed to a typical, old-fashioned “home-and-home” deal, in which two teams meet on each other’s campus over two (or sometimes four) years.

“This all kind of started two years ago at the Final Four and we were talking during an awards show,” Gard said after UA beat Wisconsin 98-73 on Saturday. “I said, `Hey, would you ever want to play a home-and-home? He said, `Yeah, my fans want you guys to come in because they remember some years (of Wisconsin beating UA in the NCAA Tournament).’

“So credit to him and I guess obviously us too because a lot of coaches and programs won’t do this. They won’t stick their neck out and go play these type of games on an away court.”

Lloyd also managed to strike up a similar conversation with Duke coach Jon Scheyer that led to a series that began last month in Durham, North Carolina, with the Blue Devils scheduled to come to McKale Center next season.

But all of Arizona’s other marquee nonconference games this season are of the increasingly common neutral or “semi-neutral” variety, including the Wildcats’ showdown Saturday against No. 3 Purdue in Indianapolis.

Arizona already played Michigan State at Thousand Palms, California, on Thanksgiving before a crowd that was roughly 60% in favor of the Wildcats, and will face Alabama in Phoenix on Dec. 20 and No. 15 Florida Atlantic on Dec. 23 in Las Vegas.

While UA’s game on Saturday is expected to be heavily pro-Purdue, the Wildcats are likely to enjoy a quasi-homecourt atmosphere at Phoenix’s Footprint Center and Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

But neither one is likely to be as atsmopheric as McKale Center was on Saturday.

“You bring an opponent of Wisconsin’s stature in for a nonconference game, and your crowd is going to be excited,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, your crowd wishes you can play games like this every day, and maybe going into the Big 12 next year we’ll play a lot of them.

“But scheduling is a little tricky. You’ve got to do the best job you can for your program to get it well-positioned to get an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.”

In Arizona’s case, for example, that meant taking on a Dec. 23 game with FAU late in the scheduling process. The game offered the chance to play a team with its core returning from the Final Four last season and also to do so in front of a national Fox audience.

But that also meant taking away a potential home date with somebody else. As it was, Arizona secured an agreement from Southern to move its game with UA from Louisiana to McKale, allowing the Wildcats to meet their minimum of 18 games at home, counting exhibitions.

While the Florida Atlantic game is a one-off, UA is scheduled to face Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., next season and tentatively face Purdue in Las Vegas. But, combined with the Wildcats’ participation in the Battle 4 Atlantis next season, the Wildcats again are unlikely to have multiple marquee games at McKale during the nonconference season.

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Arizona will, however, travel to Wisconsin and host Duke to finish up those two home-and-homes next season.

UA picks up all but one first-place vote

After clobbering No. 23 Wisconsin, Arizona picked up all but one of 63 first-place votes while staying atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Houston (10-0) earned the only other first-place vote, though the Cougars fell overall from the No. 3 to the No. 4 spot.

Purdue (9-1) leapfrogged Houston, going from 4 to 3 after beating Iowa and Alabama last week entering what will now be a No. 1-vs.-No. 3 showdown on Saturday. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be streamed on Peacock.

The Boilermakers had gained the No. 1 spot on Nov. 27 but lost later that week at Northwestern, opening the door for Arizona to take over. The Wildcats picked up 59 of 63 first-place votes on Dec. 4, with one going to Kansas and the other three to Houston, but gained 62 votes on Monday.

Kansas remained at No. 2 in the poll, and defending champ UConn stayed at No. 5.

Among other UA opponents this season, FAU dropped from No. 11 to No. 15, while Duke rose from No. 22 to No. 21, Wisconsin remained at No. 23 and Colorado picked up the 26th-most points in voting. Utah and Washington also received votes.

In the NCAA’s NET ratings, Arizona is No. 1, while the Wildcats are No. 2 behind Houston in Kenpom.

Da Silva earns Pac-12 honors

Colorado’s Tristan da Silva was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after posting nearly a triple-double in the Buffaloes’ 90-63 win over then-No. 15 Miami in New York, beating out Arizona’s Pelle Larsson and six other nominees.

Da Silva had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists with only two turnovers against Miami in the Buffaloes’ only game of the week. Arizona nominated Larsson after he posted 21 points, four rebounds and four assists while going 6 for 6 from the field in the Wildcats’ win over the Badgers.

Other top candidates included Washington center Franck Kepnang, who averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in Washington’s wins over Montana State and Gonzaga. Kepnang had five blocks in the Huskies’ 78-73 win over the Zags on Saturday.

Washington State’s Myles Rice was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 11 points in two Cougar wins. UA had nominated KJ Lewis.