<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Qj3UO_0vkwgPLh00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Qj3UO_0vkwgPLh00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>Time to find something new to do on Thursday nights, Arizona fans, because basketball will no longer be central to those plans.The Big 12 Conference announced its 2024-25 slate on Thursday, and the Wildcats’ first season in the league will see them avoid playing on Thursdays for the first time in seemingly forever. Instead they’ll play half of their 20 Big 12 games on Saturdays and the other half on either Monday (three), Tuesday (six) or Wednesday (one).<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"> 2024-25 Schedule ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/U1PQNTc0Au">pic.twitter.com/U1PQNTc0Au</a>— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArizonaMBB/status/1839365520270979226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>The Big 12 opener is set for Dec. 30 at McKale Center against TCU, the first of three “Big Monday” opportunities for Arizona. The others will be marquee matchups in college basketball on those nights, as the UA hosts Iowa State on Jan. 27 and visits Baylor on Feb. 17.That trip to Waco will come two days after a home game against Houston on Feb. 15, one of only two times during the Big 12 schedule that Arizona has fewer than two days off between contests.“It’s incredibly challenging, but I think it’s an awesome opportunity,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of the league schedule. “We’re excited to be a part of the Big 12, we’re excited to be part of the conference that’s thought to be the No. 1 basketball conference in the country. But again, it’s easy to say No.1 basketball conference in the country, but now us as a program, and us as a conference got to go out and prove it.”In addition no Thursday night games is a reduction in road trips. Arizona only plays consecutive Big 12 away games three times and only one figures to see it stay on the road in between, that the conference road opener Jan. 4 at Cincinnati followed by a visit to West Virginia on Jan. 7.The other back-to-back road games are to Texas Tech (Jan. 18) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 21) and to ASU (Feb. 1) and BYU (Feb. 4). There is no calendar week during Big 12 play where the UA is not home at least once.That’s a stark difference to the Pac-10/12 era, where each week—other than those where it faced ASU—Arizona was either home for two in a row or away for two straight. That may take some getting used to, Lloyd admitted.“I’ve been doubling up my whole coaching career, so for me, it’ll probably be weird to go play one game and come home,” he said. “I’m not concerned about the double up thing because we did it at Gonzaga all those years and we did it my three years here. That’s all I know.”Based on final 2023-24 KenPom.com rankings, Arizona will host eight top-50 teams in Big 12 play, in addition to the Nov. 22 nonconference game against Duke. Last year the Wildcats’ Pac-12 slate featured only six total games against top-50 opponents. The notable absence from the home schedule is Kansas, which won’t come to McKale the first season. Arizona’s trip to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence is set for March 8, the regular season finale and four days after hosting ASU. <h2>Arizona men’s basketball 2024-25 schedule</h2>(start times, TV info TBD)<ul><li>Oct. 21 vs. Eastern New Mexico (exhibition)</li><li>Oct. 28 vs. Point Loma Nazarene (exhibition)</li><li>Nov. 4 vs. Canisius </li><li>Nov. 9 vs. Old Dominion</li><li>Nov. 15 at Wisconsin</li><li>Nov. 22 vs. Duke</li><li>Nov. 27 vs. Davidson (Battle4Atlantis, Bahamas)</li><li>Nov. 28 vs. Oklahoma or Providence (Battle4Atlantis)</li><li>Nov. 29 vs. TBD (Battle4Atlantis)</li><li>Dec. 7 vs. Southern Utah</li><li>Dec. 14 vs. UCLA (Phoenix)</li><li>Dec. 18 vs. Samford </li><li>Dec. 21 vs. Central Michigan </li><li>Dec. 30 vs. TCU </li><li>Jan. 4 at Cincinnati </li><li>Jan. 7 at West Virginia </li><li>Jan. 11 vs. UCF </li><li>Jan. 14 vs. Baylor </li><li>Jan. 18 at Texas Tech </li><li>Jan. 21 at Oklahoma State </li><li>Jan. 25 vs. Colorado </li><li>Jan. 27 vs. Iowa State </li><li>Feb. 1 at ASU </li><li>Feb. 4 at BYU </li><li>Feb. 8 vs. Texas Tech </li><li>Feb. 11 at Kansas State </li><li>Feb. 15 vs. Houston </li><li>Feb. 17 at Baylor </li><li>Feb. 22 vs. BYU</li><li>Feb. 26 vs. Utah </li><li>March 1 at Iowa State </li><li>March 4 vs. ASU </li><li>March 8 at Kansas</li><li>March 11-15 Big 12 Tournament (Kansas City)</li></ul></div></body>

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Arizona men’s basketball’s 2024-25 schedule finalized with Big 12 matchups

Time to find something new to do on Thursday nights, Arizona fans, because basketball will no longer be central to those plans. The Big 12 Conference announced its 2024-25 slate on Thursday, and the Wildcats’ first season in the league will see them avoid playing on Thursdays for the first time in seemingly forever. Instead they’ll play half of their 20 Big 12 games on Saturdays and the other half on either Monday (three), Tuesday (six) or Wednesday (one).