Arizona Basketball has finalized its non-conference schedule for the 2017-18 season.
The annual intrasquad McDonald's Red-Blue Game is on Friday, Oct. 20 at McKale Center. Arizona officially begins the season with a trio of home games versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 10, UMBC on Nov. 12 and Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 16. The Roadrunners return to McKale Center fresh off their semifinal appearance in the NIT.
Arizona travels for the first time over Thanksgiving for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas Nov. 22 through Nov. 24. Arizona is part of a strong field that includes Villanova, Purdue, NC State, Tennessee, SMU, Western Kentucky and Northern Iowa. UA is one of four NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago participating in the event.
The Wildcats finish out November with a home game against Long Beach State on Wednesday, Nov. 29 before a true road game at UNLV on Saturday, Dec. 2. The Wildcats play a return game three days later versus Texas A&M at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Ariz.
UA begins a pair of home-and-home series in 2017-18, beginning with a game in McKale Center versus Alabama on Saturday, Dec. 9. It's a game that has recently been scheduled as former Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne is now the athletic director at Alabama. A week later, Arizona rounds out its home-and-home series with New Mexico with its first game in The Pit in Albuquerque in nearly 20 years. The Cats return home to face North Dakota State on Monday, Dec. 18.
Arizona's 2017-18 non-conference schedules ends with the season's second home-and-home series kicking off as the UConn Huskies come to Tucson on Thursday, Dec. 21.
