How To Watch Utah Basketball Vs. No. 22 Arizona Wildcats
Feb 25, 2025, 3:29 PM
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah basketball travels south to Tucson where they will take on the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats.
This will be a very difficult contest for the Utes, asthe Wildcats are formidable and looking to bounceback after a tough loss to BYU.
To make matters more difficult, Utah elected to make a change in leadership has likely had an impact on this squad.
Back on the road pic.twitter.com/dqMaM1IfGu
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 25, 2025
How To Watch Utah Basketball Vs. Arizona
Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Tip-Off: 7:00 pm (MST)
TV: ESPN+
Online: WatchESPN.com
Pete Sousa will have the call on ESPN+ alongside former Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase as the former Pac-12 foes duke it out for the first time as members of the Big 12 Conference.
How To Listen To Runnin’ Utes Vs. Wildcats
Radio: ESPN 700 AM
Online: TuneIn.com
SiriusXM: Channel 381
Bill Riley will be on the play-by-play, and Sean Mooney will provide the color analysis on the air.
Utah’s change in leadership
University of Utah director of athletics Mark Harlan announced a change in leadership for the Runnin’ Utes program on Monday, Feb. 24, relieving fourth-year head coach Craig Smith.
Craig Smith’s tenure with the Utes concluded four games short of four full seasons. He led the program to a 65-62 record but failed to secure an NCAA Tournament appearance.
He also announced that first-year assistant coach Josh Eilert will now serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Utah proved it can compete in the Big 12 this season, which added to the shock value. Utah believes it can reach another level as a program, but a change in leadership is needed to get there.
Hiring the right candidate will be vital to Utah’s climb within the Big 12 Conference. That process has already begun, and initial indications point to Alex Jensen and Andre Miller.
The head coaching search is already underway, so here's a list of candidates that might be worth paying attention to for Utah Basketball. https://t.co/p9QwdmGwbd
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) February 24, 2025
Utah-Arizona, by the numbers
| Utah | Arizona | |
| 75.1 | Scoring Offense | 81.6 |
| 70.7 | Scoring Defense | 70.5 |
| 4.4 | Scoring Margin | 11.1 |
| 0.473 | Field Goal % | 0.454 |
| 0.316 | 3PT FG% | 0.332 |
| 0.324 | 3PT FG% D | 0.312 |
| 39.3 | Rebounds/Game | 40.5 |
| 4.7 | Rebound Margin | 5.2 |
| 17.9 | Assists/Game | 17.2 |
| 12.6 | Turnovers/Game | 12.0 |
| -1.6 | Tunrover Margin | -.4 |
| 1.45 | AST:TO Ratio | 1.15 |
| 6.4 | Steals/Game | 8.2 |
| 3.9 | Blocks/Game | 4.2 |
The Need-To-Knows about the Arizona Wildcats
Arizona is 12-4 in Big 12 Conference play and alone in second place in the standings. The Wildcats are No. 9 in the NET rankings and No. 11 in KenPom. Arizona’s defensive efficiency is No. 9 in the country according to KenPom while the offense is No. 22.
Caleb Love is on pace to set a career-best for fewest turnovers in a season while also reaching 100 assists in a season for the fourth time in five years. He has 54 turnovers this season and his low for a season is 74, set last season. He has 92 assists this season. He is sixth in the conference in scoring at 15.77 points per game.
Point guard Jaden Bradley ranks fifth in the Big 12 in steals per game (2.0). His 53 steals on the year are the most by an Arizona player since Kadeem Allen had 53 in 2016-17. Offensively, he has increased his scoring from 7.0 points per game last year to 11.5 ppg this season. Bradley is also 24 of 26 at the free throw line in the month of February.
Redshirt sophomore Henri Veesaar has at least one blocked shot in 11 straight games. He leads Arizona in total plus-minus (+265) despite coming off the bench every game. Over the last six games, he is averaging 12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and shooting 68.2% (30-44) from the floor.
