Arizona Basketball: 3 thoughts on Wildcats’ 2018-19 non-conference schedule
1. Tropical paradise or problem?
Arizona will once again be taking their talents to a place full of sunshine and beautiful beaches: Maui.
Last year, Arizona went to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, which wound up completely derailing the Wildcats for the rest of non-conference play; they lost all three games they played before leaving Nassau, slipping from No. 2 in the rankings to out of them altogether.
They’ll open the Maui Invitational against Iowa State on November 19, a winnable game. From there, they could face these six teams: Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, San Diego State, and Xavier. That’s a really loaded field.
Related Story. Ranking the 8 teams in the 2018 Maui Invitational. light
(Note: No Chaminade this year, as the Silverswords will begin to play only every other tournament from here on out. The Wildcats will face them in an exhibition before the season, though.)
Beating Iowa State is doable, but it’s hard to say the Wildcats are definitively better than Auburn, Duke, or Gonzaga. Even Xavier will be competitive, while San Diego State always plays up to their major conference competition.
There’s a very realistic chance, then, that they could be flying back from Hawaii with a 1-2 record in Maui Invitational games this year.
The Wildcats did win this tournament four years ago, though.