When the dust settled a year and a half ago and most of the schools in the Pac-12 knew where they were going, among the realizations that came from all this realignment was that the Arizona-UCLA rivalry in men’s basketball was potentially nearing its end.
In order to maximize their final season as conference foes, the Pac-12 made a late adjustment to the 2023-24 league schedule to make sure both schools played on each other’s court once more. After that, it was anyone’s guess when (or if) they’d face off again.
Turns out, not that long.
Arizona and No. 24 UCLA will continue their longstanding rivalry on Saturday. It will be the second year in a row the Wildcats have played at Footprint Center, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, having beat eventual Final Four qualifier Alabama there last December.
The 1 p.m. MT clash, which is part of the Hall of Fame Series that has also featured games this season in Baltimore and Las Vegas, is the first of a 3-game slate between the Wildcats and the Bruins. They’ll meet in 2025 in Las Vegas and again in 2027 in Los Angeles, but instead of at UCLA it will be in the Clippers’ new Intuit Dome.
UA coach Tommy Lloyd said that he and UCLA coach Mick Cronin had a conversation last year, after conference realignment was finalized, about keeping their rivalry going. Future games may be part of home-and-home series, but for the time being both coaches felt neutral sites made more sense.
“We both played at each other’s gyms recently enough and had maybe a lack of success,” said Lloyd, who is 6-2 against UCLA but only 1-2 at Pauley Pavilion. “So I think neither coach was excited to go back to Pauley or go back to McKale, because we both have done that a lot. So I think this is a good little breather in between, and we’ll kind of figure out home and homes in the future.”
Playing in Phoenix is something Lloyd wants to make a regular thing, similar to how the Gonzaga teams he was an assistant at for 20 years would often play at least one high-profile nonconference game each season in Seattle.
“That’s something I’m pretty steadfast about,” Lloyd said. “I think there’s an opportunity for us to really create, hopefully, an annual event up there that has a lot of meaning for our program and for the University of Arizona alumni base. Phoenix is our strongest, deepest alumni base. So I want to do something up there to engage. It’s sometimes easier said than done, because putting things together just isn’t as easy as snapping your fingers and wanting to.”
Lloyd may have been eluding to Arizona’s attempt to stage a second Red-Blue Showcase in the Phoenix area, an event that was scheduled for early October in Glendale but ultimately canceled.
Last year Arizona beat Alabama before an announced crowd of 11,182, not bad for a Wednesday night five days before Christmas. Playing on a Saturday afternoon should make for an even better turnout.
“I hope it’s loud,” said guard Caleb Love, who had 13 points and seven rebounds in that 87-74 victory over Alabama. “We usually show up with a good crowd. Our fans our second-to-none. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere.”