Top Three UA Basketball Games for the 2025-26 Season

Since taking over Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd has been one of the most successful up-and-coming coaches in college basketball going 112-33 over the course of the last four seasons making the NCAA Tournament each season and leading the program to three Sweet Sixteen appearances.

This past season, Lloyd and his program entered a new era of Arizona basketball with the Wildcats leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12 Conference. In UA’s first season in a new conference, the team went 24-13 while finishing third in the conference standings.

Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd works the sideline against the Oregon Ducks in the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

In the Big 12 Tournament, the Wildcats made it to the conference title game and fell 72-64 to Houston, which would go on to play for the National Title.

Following the end to the season, Arizona lost star guard Caleb Love to graduation and forward Carter Bryant to the NBA Draft where he went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.

Plus, Arizona saw two key players in KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar leave the program and transfer to Power 4 programs.

Mar 4, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) celebrates a block against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Despite that, Arizona will be fully loaded again with four key returners in Jaden Badley, Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas. Plus, Lloyd and his staff signed the No. 2 recruiting class according to 24/7 Sports.

We are inching closer to the start of the college basketball season with Arizona tipping off its schedule against defending national champions in the Florida Gators in Las Vegas 33 days from now.

The Big 12 is regarded as one of the top conferences in college hoops and the conference slate of games will be hard for any team to navigate this season.

Arizona and Lloyd have set up one of the toughest non-conference slate of games in the country with the Wildcats facing Florida, UConn, UCLA, Alabama, Auburn and San Diego State as the marquee games.

Mar 13, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) protects the ball during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Wildcats have released their full non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season and features eight home games with Auburn headlining the McKale Center slate of games.

Arizona and the Big 12 have released the dates for the conference games with times and stations still to be announced.

The season for the Wildcats will be filled with high-level players, games and prime time matchups that will be the center piece of the college basketball world.

To get you ready for the season, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have broken down the three top games of the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Top Three Games

Mar 8, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) guards Kansas Jayhawks guard David Coit (8) during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

3. Arizona vs. Kansas (Both Games)

Okay, we are cheating here just a little and that is because when it comes to Arizona-Kansas every game between these two programs is must-watch television. The two are the biggest brands in the Big 12 and will be playing at each other's arenas unlike the previous season when the Wildcats only went to Lawrence.

The two teams will be competing for a Big 12 Title and the road game will be featured on ESPN’s Big Monday on the prime time slate of games during the conference season.

Mar 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA center Aday Mara (15) and Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (14) fight for the ball during the first half of a game at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images | Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images

2. Arizona vs. UCLA (Los Angeles)

This is very simple, Arizona-UCLA is one of the most historic rivalry games in all of college sports and is one second behind Duke-North Carolina for the best rivalry game in college hoops.

Now that the two programs are no longer in the game conference, these matchups become pure gold for the two fan bases and features teams that have been playing, recruiting and competing against each other dating back to 1976 when the Wildcats lost to the Bruins in the Elite Eight.

Mar 15, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) attempts to pass against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half for the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship game at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

1. Arizona vs. Houston (Away)

Although the Wildcats finished third in their first year in the Big 12, arguably the two best teams were Arizona and Houston, which only played once during the regular season and then matched up in the conference championship game.

Last season, the Cougars got the better of the Wildcats going 2-0 in two very close games that came down to the wire.

Please be sure to share your thoughts on the upcoming season Arizona basketball and the teams the Wildcats will be going up against. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.