That time of year is finally back and about to tip off with No. 10 Arizona basketball back in action and the Wildcats ready to open up the 2024-25 season with their opening game Monday night against Canisius. Coach Tommy Lloyd is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the program with a record of 88-20 with two regular season conference titles in the Pac-12.
However, unlike in years the 2024-25 season will bring a lot of first to the program as Arizona has moved on from the Pac-12 and is entering it first season in the Big 12 conference. The new conference will feature six ranked teams and five of them ranked inside the AP Poll Top 10 with No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor and the Wildcats rounding things out at No. 10 in the nation.
The new conference will be a gauntlet each week with numerous top 25 match ups and new tough road tests that Arizona hasn't face before on a consistent bases within a conference. Plus, the Wildcats will have marquee non-conference games against Wisconsin (road), No. 7 Duke (home), No. 22 UCLA (neutral site) and the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Despite a new conference and seeing four starters from last years team not on the roster due to entering the NBA Draft and transferring to new programs, Arizona still welcomes back high-level talent from last season and has added to its roster through the transfer portal and recruiting.
Arizona will have guards Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis in its 2024-25 starting lineup with all three deciding to return to the program after testing out the NBA Draft waters and process.
Meanwhile, Lloyd and his staff added through the portal by landing forwards Anthony Dell'Orso and Trey Townsend along with center Tobe Awaka. Plus, the Wildcats have added two four-star freshmen in center Emmanuel Stephen and forward Carter Bryant.
Yes, there have been a lot of changes to Arizona since the end of the 2023-24 season but expectations remain the same and the Wildcats will be embarking on a new journey in the Bi 12 conference.
GAME INFO
Who: Arizona (27-9) vs. Canisius (14-18)
When: 8 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Ariz.
TV: ESPN+
Odds: Arizona (-34.5) O/U (156.5)
All-time series: Canisius leads 2-1 (Arizona won the last meeting in 1953 defeating Canisius 79-58)
SNAPSHOT (Canisius)
Head coach: Jim Christian (first season)
Preseason prediction: 12th (MAAC)
2023-24 finish: 14-18, 8-12 (9th)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
2023 season:
Scoring offense: Arizona (3rd/87.1 PPG) | Canisius (265th/70.4 PPG)
Scoring defense: Arizona (T-181st/72.1 PPG) | Canisius (T-181st/72.1 PPG)
Rebounding margin: Arizona (3rd/9.9) | Canisius (82nd/3.1)
Assists per game: Arizona (4th/18.5) | Canisius (224th/12.5)
Turnovers per game: Arizona (192nd/11.9) | Canisius (314th/13.5)
