Arizona will play its 28th game of the 2022-23 season on Saturday night, the 17th in Pac-12 play. Yet when the Wildcats line up against Colorado at McKale Center it will serve as their first matchup of the season, a freak product of the conference’s unbalanced 20-game schedule.
“It’s the NCAA Tournament, you play one day, then have a quick turnaround against someone you’ve never played,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after Thursday’s win over Utah. “You better lock in and figure it out.”
Lloyd’s comparison to the Thursday/Saturday (or Friday/Sunday) format of the NCAA tourney is a good one, but the matchup with the Buffaloes could also continue a potentially unsettling trend for the Wildcats this season if it doesn’t go well.