Preview: Arizona vs. San Diego (exhibition)

TUCSON, Ariz. - The Arizona men's basketball team is back in action Friday night, playing host to San Diego State in an exhibition game inside McKale Center at ALKEME Arena starting at 7:00 p.m. MST on ESPN+. The Wildcats are coming off a 93-69 win over San Francisco on Tuesday while SDSU will be playing its first of three exhibition games.

Tickets start as low as $15 and can be purchased online at ArizonaWildcats.com/MBK.

Big 12 Preseason Awards
The Big 12 announced its preseason honors as voted on by the conference coaches, and preseason All-American Motiejus Krivas was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. He was joined on the preseason first team all-conference by sophomore Ivan Kharchenkov.

In the Rankings

While the official preseason Top 25 poll from the Associated Press has not been released, there are a number of analytical websites that have posted their preseason rankings and Arizona is prominently placed in most of them. The Wildcats check-in at No. 2 in Bart Torvik's ranking while EvanMiya.com has Arizona No. 4 and KenPom.com places the Wildcats at No. 5 to start the year.

The Big 12 Conference released its annual preseason poll on Thursday and the Wildcats checked in as the favorite to win the conference, with Houston just behind them in second place.

Recapping the First Exhibition Game
Arizona used a steady defensive effort in the second half on Tuesday to pull away and defeat San Francisco, 93-69. Krivas led Arizona with 20 points and six rebounds while Kharchenkov added 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Freshman Caleb Holt chipped in 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Arizona At A Glance

Coming off a 36-3 record last year and the program's first appearance in the Final Four in 25 years, Arizona has one again reloaded with two high-profile returners in addition to a number of strong pieces joining the program as freshmen and transfers.

Senior post player Motiejus Krivas is a preseason All-American candidate and will be a focal point for Arizona at both ends of the court. He is joined by high-energy wing Ivan Kharchenkov, who led the Wildcats in scoring during the three exhibition games in Lithuania.

Add in the additions of Derek Dixon (North Carolina), JJ Mandaquit (Washington) and Ugnius Jarusevicius (Nebraska) along with McDonald's All-American Caleb Holt, Cameron Holmes and Maksim Brnovic and it is easy to see why Wildcat fans should be excited about the 2026-27 season.

Another transfer, RJ Godfrey (Clemson), joined the program over the summer but is currently not eligible for competition.

About the Aztecs

Last year, San Diego State fell short of the NCAA Tournament after a 22-11 overall record left them in second place in the Mountain West Conference. This season will mark the first for SDSU in the new Pac-12 Conference and they feature a mix of returning role players alongside newcomers out of the transfer portal.

Series History vs. San Diego State
While this game does not count towards the all-time series, Arizona does lead the series by a 26-7 margin, including a 2-0 record under head coach Tommy Lloyd. The two teams met last year in Phoenix, with Arizona coming out on top, 63-48. The Wildcats also defeated the Azetcs in the Maui Invitational in 2022.

Looking Ahead

Arizona will conclude exhibition play next Friday against Eastern Washington (ESPN+) ahead of the season opener against UCLA in Las Vegas on Nov. 2.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maksim Brnovic

Derek Dixon

RJ Godfrey

Cameron Holmes

Caleb Holt

Ugnius Jarusevicius

Ivan Kharchenkov

Motiejus Krivas

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