Peat Show: Previewing Arizona's Home Opener Tilt vs. Utah Tech

Arizona returns to Tucson for its home opener fresh off defeating the defending national champions in Florida 93-87 earlier this week to open the season.

Freshman Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley were the stars of the show in the season opening win for the Wildcats. Peat dropped 30 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in a historic performance for a freshman's debut, while Bradley added 27 points including 11 straight points late to help hold off the Gators.

Freshman Ivan Kharchenkov also posted an impressive debut with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a number of other plays you won't see show up in the box score.

The Wildcats welcome Utah Tech Friday night for their home opener at McKale Center.

Utah Tech is 2-0 to start the season with an 81-79 overtime win over South Dakota and 110-56 win over 110-65 win over Bethesda.

Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh (10) dives for the ball against the Arizona Wildcats in the second half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Trailblazers have three players averaging over 15 points through two games to start the season, led by transfer Ethan Potter who is averaging 19 points on 58 percent shooting from the field with six rebounds and over a steal per game.

Utah Tech also has sophomore guard Madiba Owona who missed the season opener, but dropped 17 points in just 19 minutes in the win over Bethesda. Sophomore guard Chance Trujillo has appeared in both games, averaging 15.5 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field.

As a team, Utah Tech shot 7-for-27 from deep against South Dakota and 8-for-29 from deep against Bethesda.

Friday's game will be the first of back-to-back home games for Arizona with Northern Arizona coming to Tucson on Tuesday before the Wildcats have back-to-back games against UCLA and UConn.

One player who will be looking to make his mark on Friday is freshman Brayden Burries, who dealt with foul trouble in the season opener which led to him only playing 17 minutes.

It was Peat and Bradley who carried the Wildcats in the season opener, but it is still a deep rotation for the Wildcats that will continue to figure itself out as non-conference play continues to progress.

Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas also struggled most of the season opener against a tough Florida front court. Awaka played just 16 minutes as he was also in foul trouble. The Wildcats will need them both to hold their own down low as the season continues to progress.

The Wildcats also took just five shot attempts from deep in the season opener and still scored 93 points. That will be something to continue to monitor. Arizona isn't considered a super strong shooting team from deep, but players like Burries and Anthony Dell'Orso can get hot from that range in certain games.

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