NCAAB

College basketball weekly: Arizona men finish non-conference at home; ASU men ranked

Portrait of Jenna Ortiz Jenna Ortiz
Arizona Republic
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) goes to the bucket past Tennessee forward Uros Plavsic (33) in the first half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 17, 2022.

Arizona men’s basketball fans received an early gift in the form of the Wildcats' massive 75-70 win over then-No. 7 Tennessee at McKale Center on Saturday. The physical, defensive battle saw UA, the nation's highest-scoring team, kept 17 points below its average in game in which it uncharacteristically got offensive production from the bench.

UA will continue to stay home for the holidays with two games this week. Arizona moved up four spots in the AP poll and are ranked fifth overall.

The Wildcats (10-1, 1-1) head into Tuesday’s game against Montana State at 6:30 p.m. with a four-game win streak. Arizona then finishes out the week with a 6 p.m. Thursday meeting with Morgan State. Both games will be shown on Pac-12 Networks. 

The two non-conference games will be a tune-up for a crucial rivalry game at Arizona State on Dec. 31.  

No. 25 ASU men travel to San Francisco with 9-game win streak 

The Sun Devils continued their hot streak with 91-67 win over San Diego on Sunday. Arizona State (11-1, 2-0) will finish the non-conference slate with a meeting at San Francisco (9-3) on Wednesday. ASU was ranked for the first time this season, checking in Monday at No. 25 in the latest AP poll.

Wednesday's game will be shown on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. 

Dec 18, 2022; Tempe, Ariz., U.S. Arizona State forward Warren Washington (22) is defended by San Diego forward Jeremiah Nyarko (20) during the first half at Desert Financial Arena.

GCU finishes non-conference with Idaho State 

The Grand Canyon (8-4) men had a thriller in Saturday’s overtime win over Pepperdine, overcoming a 9-point deficit in the last five minutes of regulation. GCU’s offense outscored Pepperdine 28-9 over the final 10 minutes of play. The Lopes have one more game, before heading into Western Athletic Conference play, with Idaho State (3-9) out of the Big Sky Conference at 6 p.m. on Tuesday from GCU Arena. 

Arizona women head to UT Arlington before Pac-12 play 

Arizona rebounded from its first loss in the previous week and collected two wins at home, including an 89-55 rout over then-No. 18 Baylor on Sunday. The win paid off in the rankings with the Wildcats moving up two spots to No. 18. Arizona will finish non-conference play at UT Arlington on Wednesday at 2 p.m. before its Pac-12 opener against ASU on Dec. 29.