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Arizona Basketball: Ranking Wildcats 2019-20 non-conference opponents

By Tristan Freeman

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 20: Ira Lee and Dylan Smith #3 of the Arizona Wildcats block out Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a free throw attempt during the first half of the game at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 20, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 20: Ira Lee and Dylan Smith #3 of the Arizona Wildcats block out Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a free throw attempt during the first half of the game at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 20, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks with Ira Lee #11, Brandon Randolph #5 and Dylan Smith #3 during the second half of the NCAAB game against the Washington Huskies at McKale Center on February 07, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats 67-60. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks with Ira Lee #11, Brandon Randolph #5 and Dylan Smith #3 during the second half of the NCAAB game against the Washington Huskies at McKale Center on February 07, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats 67-60. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Arizona Basketball is looking for a bounce back season after barely finishing over .500. How will they perform in the non-conference portion of their schedule?

After recruiting misses and off the court concerns involving the coaching staff, Arizona Basketball struggled for most of the 2018-19 season. They finished with an overall record of 17-15 after losing seven straight games in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats entered conference play with a 9-4 record, after going through a tough haul of matchups.

Arizona participated in the prestigious Maui Invitational, defeating Iowa State before falling to top-10 programs Gonzaga and Auburn. In December, they were able to beat UConn but lost to both Alabama and Baylor. But Sean Miller hopes that the Wildcats will have an easier time against power conference programs this upcoming season, with a top-tier recruiting class and a great grad transfer in Max Hazzard.

The non-conference portion for Arizona’s 2019-20 schedule has been released, featuring rematches against Gonzaga and Baylor from a year ago. They also will be participating in the 2019 Wooden Legacy Classic, along with programs such as Providence, UCF, Penn, Wake Forest, and Charleston and Pepperdine (who they are already slated to play in the first round).

The following is a rankings of the guaranteed opponents for the Wildcats this upcoming season. That will include Pepperdine but not other Wooden Legacy opponents. The hope for fans of is team is that they would play Providence at some point, as they’re the only team other than Arizona in that tournament with any real at-large aspirations.

The Friars would’ve ranked No. 5 had they been on this list. So who are the top four? And which mid-major opponents should Arizona be concerned with and be on “upset alert”? Here’s the rankings and early preview of each team.

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