Arizona Opponent Losses Head Coach Ahead of the Season
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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.
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 of 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.
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 42 days from now.
,Now, Arizona has released its full non-conference schedule with marquee games against Florida, UCLA, UConn, Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State.
A historic chapter is coming to a close for @CoachBrucePearl, but his legacy lives on.
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) September 22, 2025
🗞️: https://t.co/2kRQCEl1yk#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/4LFaqgRBH4
The major home game for Arizona is the game against Auburn, which has been one of the better programs over the last 10 seasons, with head coach Bruce Pearl leading the Tigers to a 246-125 record that has seen the team go to two Final Fours during that span.
Now, right before the start of the 2025-26 season, Arizona has seen one of its top opponents on the schedule, in Auburn, announce that Pearl will be stepping down as acting head coach while his son Steven Pearl will be taking over as the new head coach of the program, with Steven signing a five-year deal.
Throughout his coaching career, Bruce has led Auburn, Tennessee and Milwaukee, where he finished with a 477-224 record while making 14 NCAA Tournaments, nine Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, and two Final Fours.
Now that Bruce has stepped down, a transfer portal window has officially opened for the players on the roster, meaning Auburn’s players can transfer out of the program within the next 30 days with the season only 42 days away.
Right now, Auburn will be a tough matchup this season for Arizona. However, in the next 30 days, things could change with players potentially leaving the program in the transfer window.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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