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Team: University of Arizona Wildcats
Conference: Pac-12
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Arena: McKale Center
National Titles: One
Notable Players: Andre Iguodala, Steve Kerr, Jason Terry, Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Mike Bibby, Deandre Ayton, Stanley Johnson, Lauri Markkanen, Channing Frye, Sean Elliott, Leon Wood, Damon Stoudamire, Jason Gardner, Jerryd Bayless, Larry Demic
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Once called Point Guard U for its incredible output of top PG talent, Arizona basketball has a long and illustrious heritage that dates back to its time in the Border conference in the early 20th century. Fred Enke, who led the team between 1926 and 1961, was the first Arizona coach to achieve sustained success. His 509 wins is still the second most in the school's history. After Enke stepped down, Arizona switched to the Western Athletic Conference in 1962 and finally the Pac-10 in 1978. Lute Olsen, who coached the team between 1984 and 2007, led the program to a school record of 587 wins and its sole national championship. In the 1997 championship game, No. 4 seed Arizona defeated the No. 1 seed
Kentucky Wildcats
84-79 in overtime to secure the title. Guard Miles Simon was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Arizona returned to the championship game in 2001 but lost to
Duke
82-72. A few years after Lute Olsen retired, Xavier coach Sean Miller was hired to take over as head coach of the Wildcats. He is the third-highest winning coach in Arizona basketball history. If you want to catch a live game, then purchase Arizona Wildcats basketball tickets at StubHub.
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Arizona finished the 2018-2019 season with a record of 17-15 and 8-10 in the conference. To end the season, Arizona lost to the
USC Trojans
78-65 in the Pac-12 Tournament. The team did not receive a postseason bid.
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Arizona comes into the 2019-2020 season ranked No. 21 in the AP top 25 poll. In the early part of the schedule, the team faces off against
Pepperdine
in the
Wooden Legacy
tournament on Nov. 28. The winner of the game will advance to the next round of the tournament. This is followed by a road game against
Baylor
on Dec. 7, a home game against
Gonzaga
on Dec. 14 and a neutral site game against
St. John’s
in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame
Al Attles Classic
on Dec. 21. To open up the Pac-12 schedule, Arizona plays at home against
Arizona State
on Jan. 4 and then goes to
Oregon
on Jan. 9. This is followed by back-to-back road games against Arizona State on Jan. 25 and
Washington
on Jan. 30. To close out the season, Arizona plays Oregon at home on Feb. 22 and Washington on March 7. The
Pac-12 Tournament
begins on March 11.
''The McKale Memorial Center, which was named in honor of a former student athlete and head coach, has a seating capacity of 14,655 following the completion of renovations for the 2014-2015 season.'
'An Arizona Wildcats home game features a raucous collegiate atmosphere led by the ZonaZoo student section and the Sea of Red. Fans can look forward to Arizona’s traditional cheers and the official fight song, Fight! Wildcats! Fight! played by the school band. The recent renovations added a modern high-definition scoreboard, sophisticated court lighting and other features.'
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Arizona shares an in-state rivalry with the
Arizona State Sun Devils
. The two teams first met in 1913 and later joined the Border conference, the Western Athletic Conference and the Pac-10 around the same time together. The teams have met more than 200 times in total. Arizona also shares a minor rivalry with the
UCLA Bruins
due to their historical competition for the conference championship. Since both teams joined the Pac-10 Conference, they have met every year.
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