It’s a rarity for Arizona women’s basketball. So rare that it has never happened in the Adia Barnes era. The Wildcats will play a Top 25 matchup on Friday in just their second regular-season game.
The reasons are twofold. First of all, it has been rare for the No. 22/15 Wildcats to start a season ranked. This season marks the second straight that they went into the year with a number next to their name.
The second reason was one of both philosophy and necessity. Barnes had a choice early in her tenure. Arizona had been bad for so long that teams wanted to play them.