What to watch for when Arizona men’s hosts No. 23 BYU

The last time Arizona and BYU met, just a few weeks ago, the Wildcats were unbeaten and the No. 1 team in the country. A lot has changed since then, for both teams.

The UA (23-2, 10-2) is riding a 2-game skid, having lost at Kansas and then at home to Texas Tech to drop out of first place in the Big 12 and fall to No. 4 in the AP poll. Meanwhile, BYU (19-6, 7-5) has fallen off the pack for the conference title and is now just trying to have a chance to finish in the top four and get a double bye into the Big 12 Tournament next month in Kansas City.

Advertisement

The Cougars have managed to stay in the rankings, sitting at No. 23, which makes them the third of what will be four consecutive ranked opponents on Arizona’s schedule. The UA is 0 for 2 in that stretch and is trying to avoid its first 3-game losing streak since late in the 2019-20 season.

Arizona will be wearing special “Galaxy Slam” uniforms to commemorate the school’s connection to the space industry. Last year it wore red at home against BYU, the only time it did so, and lost on a controversial foul call in the final seconds.

Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Cougars battle it out at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena:

Who won’t play?

Against Texas Tech, Arizona was without Dwayne Aristode due to an illness and then it saw Koa Peat sit out the second half with what was described as a lower leg injury. The Wildcats were basically down to a 6-man rotation for the final 20 minutes and that likely contributed to the loss.

Advertisement

But it’s not just Arizona that is dealing with personnel losses. BYU senior Richie Saunders—the beneficiary of the aforementioned foul call last season—announced Sunday he was out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL Saturday against Colorado.

Saunders was averaging 18 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for BYU, shooting nearly 39 percent from 3 and better than 81 percent from the foul line. In the first meeting with Arizona this season he had 18 points and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-arizona-men-hosts-no-220000256.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-02-17 22:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.