Arizona will play St. John's at Madison Square Garden on December 5, per CBS Sports College Basketball reporter Jon Rothstein. The Red Storm and Wildcats will play a return game in Phoenix during the 2027-28 season. Rothstein reported there is no timetable for an official announcement of the agreement.
St. John's finished 30-7 in 2025-26 and lost to Duke 80-75 in the East Regional Semifinal. Arizona and St. John's have split their two meetings. St. John's beat Arizona 70-67 in 2019 in San Francisco. Arizona 81-62 in New York in 2011. Pitino is 2-2 all-time against Arizona.
Arizona lost to Kentucky in the 1993 Maui Invitational Championship game on a Jeff Brassow shot at the buzzer. In the most memorable game in Arizona history, they beat Kentucky 84-79 in the 1997 NCAA Tournament Championship Game, in what was Pitino's last game coaching the Wildcats.
Arizona beat Louisville and Pitino in New York in 2006. Louisville and Pitino beat Arizona in the 2009 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Semifinal in one of the most improbable postseason runs by the Wildcats. This season will be the first time Arizona will play against a team coached by Pitino since 2009.
NEWS: Arizona and St. John's will meet on December 5th at MSG as part of the Hall-of-Fame Series, according to multiple sources.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 30, 2026
Return game in Phoenix in 2027-28.https://t.co/sBqXMo8s5h
Challenging non-conference schedule
In addition to St. John's, Arizona is scheduled to play Auburn, Connecticut and UCLA in non-conference in 2026. Arizona and UCLA will play in the season opener on November 2 in Las Vegas. Connecticut is at Arizona on November 18, with the Auburn date yet to be announced.
Arizona is sixth and St. John's 18th in the "Rothstein 45, 2026 off-season edition" he posted to FanDuel." Rothstein has Connecticut fifth, UCLA 24th and Auburn 44th in his offseason 45. Five Big XII teams are included in Rothstein's 45 to give Arizona one of the most challenging schedules entering the 2025-26 season.
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