Arizona opens up a busy week Monday with both the men's and women's teams heading into an important stretch to open the new year. Here's a rundown of the latest news for both teams as 2020 comes to a close.

It has been an interesting stretch for Arizona point guard James Akinjo. He has had an up-and-down few games, but his mentality remains consistent. In UA's loss to Stanford back on Dec. 19, the transfer from Georgetown struggled at the free-throw line and failed to convert on an opportunity to win the game against the Cardinal. He bounced back with a perfect showing from the line as he led the Wildcats in a tough victory over Montana last Tuesday.

Arizona has had some time off since then and will be back in action Monday night against Colorado, and Akinjo will head into the week as the winner of the team's gold practice jersey. It is the third time the redshirt sophomore has earned the honor with Akinjo winning it two of the last three weeks.

Veteran guard Jemarl Baker Jr. was the last winner of the gold jersey, which is awarded to the week's top practice performer.

Akinjo has been a big part of the 6-1 start for the Wildcats and he heads into Monday's matchup against Colorado second on the team's scoring list with 13.4 points and is at the top of the assist list with 4.7 assists per game this year.

He also leads the team with 1.4 steals so far through seven games this season. His toughness and competitiveness is something the Wildcats have leaned on early and will continue to lean on moving forward this season.

UA head coach Sean Miller called Akinjo Arizona's "engine" earlier this season and he will certainly continue to be an important part of the team the rest of the year.

"He doesn't have a confidence issue, and I was excited to see him come out and play the way he did at the beginning for sure," Miller said after last week's win over Montana that was led by 18 points and five assists from Akinjo.

Arizona's women's basketball team is going through a lull in its schedule right now coming off a dominating 96-42 victory over Idaho last week. The next game on UA's schedule will be its biggest, however, as No. 1 Stanford makes its way to Tucson this week. The game will mark a continuation of Pac-12 play with the Wildcats (7-0, 5-0 Pac-12) off to their best start in conference history.

So far UA has logged a top-10 win over previous No. 9 UCLA, but the game against Stanford means step up in competition. The Wildcats will head into Friday's matchup at McKale Center with a No. 6 ranking as they remain locked into that spot for the third consecutive week in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Wildcats started the season at No. 7, which was the previous high mark in program history.

It means the top two teams in the Pac-12 will be matching up giving UA an opportunity to cement its spot on the national scene and move into position as a legitimate National Championship threat.

Both teams will head into the matchup coming off long layoffs as Stanford beat UCLA last Monday, 61-49.

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