Arizona is leaning into the same formula that helped fuel its run back to the Final Four: load up the nonconference slate and let the tests start early.
The Wildcats announced their 2026-27 nonleague schedule Wednesday, and it’s a 17-game stretch that brings 10 games to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena, including three preseason exhibitions against Division I opponents. The schedule also includes three Hall of Fame Series games, another sign that Arizona won’t be easing into the year.
The headliner comes Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, where Arizona opens against longtime Pac-12 rival UCLA at T-Mobile Arena. That game closes out a three-game series that has already split the first two meetings, with UCLA winning in Phoenix in 2024 and Arizona taking the middle game last November in Los Angeles.
Arizona’s other Hall of Fame Series matchups are just as eye-catching. The Wildcats will play St.
John’s at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 5 and meet Arkansas at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Dec. 19.
Before the calendar turns to those showcase dates, Arizona will get its first home action of the season on Nov. 5 against Cal Poly. NAU visits on Nov. 10, and then comes a road trip to Auburn on Nov. 13 for the return leg of a home-and-home series that started last season. Five days later, the Wildcats are back home to face UConn, which reached last year’s NCAA final.
That UConn win in Storrs last November was one of five ranked victories Arizona piled up in nonconference play during the 2025-26 season.
The Wildcats are also headed back to Maui. Arizona will be in the Maui Invitational for the 10th time during Thanksgiving week, chasing its fourth title in the event.
The opener is Nov. 23 against Colorado State, followed by either Providence or VCU on Nov. 24.
The final game will come against one of Clemson, Ole Miss, former Pac-12 foe Washington or current Big 12 opponent BYU.
The rest of Arizona’s home nonconference schedule includes LSU-New Orleans on Dec. 1, Tennessee Tech on Dec.
12, Northern Illinois on Dec. 21 and Incarnate Word on Dec. 29.
Big 12 play is expected to begin Jan. 2.
The preseason also got a little longer thanks to a change in NCAA rules, which now allows a third exhibition against a Division I team. Arizona will host San Francisco on Oct. 13, San Diego State on Oct. 16 and Eastern Washington on Oct. 23 after opening the preseason Sept. 26 with the Red-Blue Showcase.
Arizona’s 2026-27 nonconference schedule: Oct. 13 vs.
San Francisco (exhibition)
Oct. 16 vs.
San Diego State (exhibition)
Oct. 23 vs.
Eastern Washington (exhibition)
Nov. 2 vs.
UCLA (Las Vegas)
Nov. 5 vs.
Cal Poly
Nov. 10 vs.
NAU
Nov. 13 at Auburn
Nov. 18 vs. UConn
Nov. 23 vs. Colorado State (Maui Invitational)
Nov. 24 vs. Providence/VCU (Maui Invitational)
Nov. 25 vs. TBD (Maui Invitational)
Dec. 1 vs. LSU-New Orleans
Dec. 5 vs. St.
John’s (New York City)
Dec. 12 vs.
Tennessee Tech
Dec. 19 vs.
Arkansas (Phoenix)
Dec. 21 vs.
Northern Illinois
Dec. 29 vs.
Incarnate Word
In Other News...
Arizona Fans Will Hate Where This NCAA Double Standard Leads
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For Arizona fans, the frustration comes from where this trail leads. The same player at the center of the Alabama State case later became part of the Wildcats roster conversation, and the eligibility questions surrounding him helped turn a records issue into a much broader debate about how the NCAA weighs responsibility from one school to the next. Alabama States acceptance closes one chapter, but it also leaves Arizona supporters staring at a double standard they are unlikely to forget anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Basketball Just Dropped A Nonconference Slate Fans Will Debate
Arizona basketballs full nonconference slate is out, and it has the kind of mix that should keep fans arguing from October through December. There are three exhibition games in October, a regular-season opener in Las Vegas against UCLA, and a busy run that also brings in Cal Poly, NAU, Auburn, UConn and a trip to Maui before the calendar turns to the heart of the schedule. It is a slate built to test the Wildcats early, with enough variety in venue and opponent to give the roster a real read before league play arrives.
The intrigue starts right away with that UCLA matchup, which lands as the final game in a three-game series that has already swung both ways. Auburn also comes back onto the schedule in November as the return leg of a home-and-home, adding another measuring-stick game for a team that will not be able to hide from quality competition. By the time Arizona closes nonconference play at home against Northern Illinois and Incarnate Word, the debate will not just be about who the Wildcats played, but what all of it revealed about how ready they are. [Read more 🡒]