Arizona will face a challenge during its debut in the expanded Big 12 next season. But it was not the result that many expected to see.
The Wildcats won't face Houston and Kansas, two preseason teams projected in the top five, multiple times, according to the league's conference pairings released Thursday, the first schedule after the league added Colorado, Utah , Arizona and Arizona State by 2024. 25.
The arrival of Arizona, which will bring back projected All-American Caleb Love, added another basketball powerhouse to a league that has been viewed as the nation's top conference, pound for pound, for more than a decade. The addition presented an opportunity for the league to create home and road matchups between the Wildcats and Kansas, the projected No. 1 team in America entering the season, and the Wildcats and Houston, which also appears to be a strong contender for the national title. again under Kelvin Sampson.
Hunter Dickinson, a second-team Associated Press All-American in 2023-24, will anchor a Kansas team that also added standout transfers AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo. LJ Cryer and J'Wan Roberts are back to lead a Houston program that has won 97 games over the past three years.
But the only chance fans will have to see those three teams tango will be during an Arizona-Houston game in Tucson and an Arizona-Kansas affair in Lawrence. Times and dates have not been announced.
The OFFICIAL 2024-25 Big 12 Men's Basketball Opponent Matrix 🏀 pic.twitter.com/ytZp954fqT
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) June 27, 2024
But Arizona won't have an easy ride during its first year in the Big 12. Tommy Lloyd's team will face both Baylor and Iowa State, another pair of Big 12 teams with aspirations of being in the top 10, both in games at home and away from home. Still, the idea of Arizona facing Houston and Kansas multiple times was the most intriguing offer the league had. That scenario, however, will not play out in 2024-25.
On the women's side, star Audi Crooks and Iowa State will face Kansas State, a projected top-25 team heading into 2024-25, in two matchups next season and Baylor once in Waco.
