How to watch, listen to Utah vs. Arizona in Big 12 college basketball opener

With nonconference play wrapped up, Utah is set to open Big 12 play with a daunting matchup against Arizona, the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Tipoff between the Runnin' Utes (8-5) and Wildcats (13-0) is set for Saturday, 2 p.m. MT. Fans can watch the matchup from Jon M. Huntsman through NBC's streaming platform, Peacock.

Here's what you need to know heading into Alex Jensen's first Big 12 game.

By The Numbers

Utah shot a season-low 39.1% from the field and missed nine of its first 12 field goal attempts of the second half of its 74-65 loss to Washington on Monday.

Arizona allowed its opponents to shoot 39.3% through 13 games, the fourth-best mark among Big 12 teams.

Runnin' Utes guard Terrence Brown led the way with 21 points against the Huskies, bringing his scoring average to 21.5 points per game (third-best among Big 12 players).

Wildcats freshman forward Koa Peat recorded his second double-double of the season while leading his team with 19 points and 14 rebounds in a 99-71 win over South Dakota State, increasing his yearly averages to 14.2 points and 5.6 boards per contest.

Among Big 12 teams, the Runnin' Utes had the second-worst rebounding margin (0.2 per game) while the Wildcats (14.6) were No. 1 in that category heading into Saturday.

Arizona senior forward Tobe Awaka had four games with 15 or more rebounds — the only country in the player to pull off that feat — and ranked No. 1 nationally in offensive rebounding rate (23.9%) through the Wildcats' first 13 games, according to KenPom.com.

Arizona led the conference in both free throws made (254) and attempted (348) going into Saturday.

Ironically, Utah's only win in a conference opener over an AP top 25 team was in December 2022 against No. 4 Arizona.

Utah was 3-8 against No. 1 ranked teams all-time, with its last win over a top-ranked squad coming in 2002 against Alabama.

Stat Leaders

Points

Utah: Brown (21.5 ppg), Don McHenry (18.3 ppg), Keanu Dawes (12.2 ppg)
Arizona: Peat (14.2 ppg), Brayden Burries (14 ppg), Jayden Bradley (13.4 ppg)

Assists

Utah: Brown (3.9 apg), Dawes (2.8 apg), Obomate Abbey (2.5 apg)
Arizona: Bradley (4.5 apg), Peat (2.8 apg), Anthony Dell'Orso (2.8 apg)

Rebounds

Utah: Dawes (9.2 rpg), James Okonkwo (5.2 rpg), Kendyl Sanders (4 rpg)
Arizona: Awaka (10.2 rpg), Motiejus Krivas (8.3 rpg), Peat (5.6 rpg)

3-point shooting (min. 2.5 attempts per game)

Utah: Jacob Patrick (46.5%; 4.3 attempts per game), McHenry (42.5%; 6.2 attempts per game), Seydou Traore (37.7%; 4.4 attempts per game)
Arizona: Dwayne Aristode (51.3%; 3 attempts per game), Burries (35.6%; 4.5 attempts per game), Ivan Kharchenkov (34.3%; 2.7 attempts per game)

How to Watch Arizona vs. Utah

Date: Saturday, Jan. 3
Game Time: 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center
How to watch (TV): Peacock/NBC Sports Network
Radio: ESPN 700
KenPom prediction: Arizona 89, Utah 72