It’s not the regular season yet, but it’s pretty close.
The 2026-27 season begins in three weeks, and to prepare for that Arizona has scheduled a trio of exhibition games against Division I opponents. The first of those comes Tuesday night when San Francisco visits ALKEME Arena at McKale Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT and the game will air on ESPN+.
The UA will also face San Diego State on Friday and Eastern Washington on Oct. 23, with those games at the same times and with the same TV info.
Last year marked the first time the NCAA allowed for teams to face Division I opponents in the preseason, with Arizona hosting (and beating) Saint Mary’s in one of their exhibitions. The other was against NAIA school Embry-Riddle, the kind of teams the Wildcats would regularly schedule for preseason competition.
Now teams can play up to three exhibitions, all against D-I teams, and Arizona is taking full advantage.
“These are tough, competitive games,” UA assistant coach Jack Murphy said. “I mean, if the NCAA Tournament were at 76 teams the last few years I think San Francisco probably is in it. We already know San Diego State is a perennial NCAA Tournament team, and Eastern Washington is one of the more talented teams in the Big Sky.
“I think that it’s a great challenge for our guys early on. It’s exciting. It gives us an opportunity to play against good teams in preparation for our opener in November.”
Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Dons open preseason play on Tuesday night:
The starting lineup and beyond
When Arizona went to Lithuania in August to play three games it used two different starting lineups, but swapping out Bryce James for Cameron Holmes at one of the guard spots. But the Wildcats didn’t have their full allotment of players available, either because of injuries or eligibility.
Both may still be the case on Tuesday. Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey is currently ineligible pending his ongoing case against the NCAA in Georgia, while Idaho State transfer Evan Otten and freshman Endurance Aiyamenkhue both sat out the Red-Blue Showcase because of minor injuries.
The most likely starting five figures to be Holmes, fellow freshman Caleb Holt and North Carolina transfer Derek Dixon in the backcourt, with Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas in the frontcourt. James and Washington transfer JJ Mandaquit, who was unavailable in Lithuania, will be the first backcourt subs while Nebraska transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius and freshman Maksim Brnovic the first to come in for the frontcourt.
The opponent
San Francisco went 17-16 last season, finishing in the middle of the pack in the West Coast Conference. The previous three years the Dons won 20 or more games under coach Chris Gerlufsen, who took over the program in 2022 following Todd Golden’s departure to Florida.
But this year’s USF team is almost completely new, with just two players back from a year ago, but one sat out and took a medical redshirt. Forward Ndewedo Newbury was a starter in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and is a career 38.1 percent 3-point shooter.
The Dons have 11 freshmen on the roster along with four transfers, most notably former St. Thomas wing Ben Oosterbaan, who averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds last season as a sophomore. There are two players who are taller than 6-foot-9, Slovenian freshman Ziga Daneu (6-11) and 7-foot Gonzaga transfer Ismaila Diagne.
That will make scouting this game harder than normal, while San Francisco can look at the film from Arizona’s three Lithuania games and the Red-Blue Showcase.
