The Big 12 announced its conference schedule in September, but Arizona knew who it was playing and in what order long before that. It also got an explanation from the league.
“We got our schedule and they apologized,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “They said, ‘we know this is hard, we know this is a gauntlet, but there’s reasons we’re doing this. Because the University of Arizona and the men’s basketball program brings a ton of value to our conference. We want you guys to be a marquee piece of this conference, basketball wise.’”
Top-ranked Arizona is the talk of the college basketball, off to both the best start in school history and by a Big 12 school, topping Kansas’ 22-0 start to the 1996-97 season. Monday’s Associated Press poll will have the Wildcats at the top for the ninth straight week, tied for the second-longest streak by a Big 12 school.
The UA is getting the national attendance it deserves, but almost every mention also includes the caveat that the Wildcats are about to enter a ridiculously tough stretch of games.
Just like the Big 12 planned for it.
Arizona puts its perfect record on the line Monday night at No. 11 Kansas, the first of four consecutive games against currently ranked opponents. The Wildcats host No. 13 Texas Tech on Saturday—with ESPN’s College GameDay in town—and then host No. 16 BYU on Feb. 18 before visiting No. 8 Houston on Feb. 21. After a Feb. 24 trip to Baylor, the UA then hosts Kansas and No. 7 Iowa State in a 3-day span.
“I’m excited for the opportunities coming down the pipe,” Lloyd said Saturday after an 84-47 win over Oklahoma State. “We’re not mad at anybody or feel like it’s unfair. If you want to be a great program and you want to be a participant in a great conference? Well, you got to be willing to walk the walk. So our walk is playing a lot of high level games in the month of February and leading into March. So let’s do it.”
And this isn’t just an Arizona thing. While the Wildcats have the most remaining games against ranked opponents (six) each of that sextet has at least three more matchups left against the rest of the group.
Houston will has to visit Iowa State and Kansas in addition to hosting the UA, while Iowa State plays each of the other five top teams once over the final four weeks. Kansas has four games left against the top tier, including two against the Wildcats, while three of Texas Tech’s final four road contests are against ranked teams.
All told, there are 12 games left between the six ranked schools, including one each Monday and at least one every Saturday through the end of the regular season.
“The Big 12 is a powerhouse basketball conference, and Brett Yormark is a basketball guy, and he’s fully embraced that narrative,” Lloyd said. “And as part of that, he’s trying to create value for his member schools. And one of the ways you create value is you have important games in great viewing windows.”
College GameDay’s visit to McKale Center on Saturday will be its third in four weeks to a Big 12 site, debuting this season in Lubbock on Jan. 24 and visiting Lawrence on Jan. 31. There’s a good chance its Feb. 21 destination could be to Houston, when Arizona plays its first game at the Fertitta Center since joining the conference.
A consensus choice to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Arizona’s resume is already stacked. The remaining schedule will only help that cause, though it will also put the Wildcats under a microscope and any losses will be heavily scrutinized.
“We know it’s going to be tough, and we know we’re going to probably take a few on the chin, but hopefully it’ll make us better,” Lloyd said. “We know we’re the new kids on the block. So we’re not walking in with hubris or thinking we’re deserving of everything. We know we got to earn it.”
