Arizona's Big 12 schedule is out - and the Wildcats face a brutal start

The Wildcats will open Big 12 play on the road before facing several of the conference's top teams in Tucson

Mar 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13) shoots the ball over Colorado Buffaloes center Elijah Malone (50) in the first half at the CU Events Center | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The path to repeating as Big 12 champions is now known for Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats - and it starts and ends with brutally tough road matchups.

Arizona enters the 2026-27 season with a massive target on their back after winning both the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament last year, while also advancing to the Final Four.

The best teams in the league will be licking their lips, trying to take the Wildcats down, and one of the toughest programs in the conference will get the first shot at it.

2026-2027 Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball 🏀 pic.twitter.com/MsHag4WpPz

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 17, 2026

Arizona's schedule starts and ends on the road

Iowa State is one of the best teams in the league, and they'll get Arizona in Ames on Jan. 2 to begin conference play. Arizona has not yet won at Hilton Coliseum, one of four venues where the Wildcats remain winless in the Big 12, but they also have not lost a conference opener since 2020 at Stanford - so something will have to give.

Arizona will close the regular season with another challenging road game, heading to Houston to take on Kelvin Sampson and the Coogs on March 6 in the regular-season finale. Houston rarely loses at home, but Arizona did clip them to close out the regular season last year, giving them a 16-2 record and the outright conference championship.

Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings (4) attempts a three-point basket over Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arizona has plenty of marquee home games

The Wildcats' first home game in league play will be Jan. 6 against UCF, and their final home game for senior night festivities will be March 3 against Colorado. Other marquee home matchups include BYU (Jan. 12), rival Arizona State (Jan. 16), Houston (Feb. 6), Kansas (Feb. 20), and Baylor (Feb. 27).

Those high-profile opponents join UConn in playing Arizona at the McKale Center. The Huskies will be in Tucson on Nov. 18, while Arizona also plays Arkansas locally on Dec. 19, although that game will be in Phoenix.

Arizona will play games every day of the week except Thursday and Saturday, and will play twice on Big Monday: Feb. 8 at home against TCU and Feb. 22 at BYU. The Wildcats also have a rare marquee Friday night game, heading to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Jan. 22.

Lloyd's club doesn't have to endure a particularly challenging road slate, with only one true road trip, which will be to West Virginia on Jan. 30 and Cincinnati on Feb. 2. The only other consecutive road games come in mid-February against Arizona State on Feb. 13 and Oklahoma State on Feb. 16.

The season officially gets underway Sep. 26 in the annual Red-Blue Showcase, before the team's three home exhibition games: Oct. 13 vs. San Francisco, Oct. 16 vs. San Diego State, and Oct. 23 vs. Eastern Washington.