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Breaking Down Key Storylines in Arizona’s Matchup With Utah Tech

Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing every …

Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics giving you an inside look  at all the programs on campus.

Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.

The Wildcats faced off against defending national champs No. 3 Florida in a neutral-site class of the titans. No. 13 Arizona rolled out a starting lineup featuring point guard Jaden Bradley, guard Brayden Burries, guard/forward Ivan Kharchenkov, forward Koa Peat and center Motiejus Krivas.

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Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) celebrates a play against the Florida Gators in the second half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

That young lineup that featured three freshmen were able to stay stride-for-stride against the Gators even after falling behind by double-digits early in the game. Arizona (1-0) managed to pull off the opening night upset 93-87 over Florida.

Arizona received massive games from Peat and Bradley, who combined for 57 points while going 20 of 32 from the field and hit clutch bucket after clutch bucket to help lift the Wildcats over the Gators.

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Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) celebrates a play against the Florida Gators in the first half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Coming into the season, many didn’t have Bradley as one of the top point guards nationally and he was even left off every major watchlist including the Bob Cousy Award watchlist.

Yet against Florida, Bradley played his best game in his college career and made a statement on the national stage with all of college basketball watching.

Now, after pulling off the upset on Monday, Arizona will face off against Utah Tech, which is coming off a narrow 81-79 win over South Dakota.

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Nov 17, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; University of Arizona Wildcats guard Pelle Larsson (3) goes up for a shot against Utah Tech guard Noa Gonsalves (11) in the first half at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: David Cruz-Imagn Images / David Cruz-Imagn Images

The last and only meeting between Arizona and Utah Tech came during the 2022-23 season when the Wildcats won 104-77 over the Traiblazers.

To get you ready for the game, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together our game prediction for Arizona’s opening home game.

Reason

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Jan 3, 2025; Gilbert, AZ, USA; Roosevelt High School (CA) guard Brayden Burries (5) against Sandra Day O’Connor High School (AZ) during the Hoophall West High School Invitational at Highland High School. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Imagesn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona proved on Monday night that they are one of the better teams nationally with an upset win over the Florida Gators. In that game, Peat was able to show off his ability as one of the better freshmen nationally with a 30-point performance. Meanwhile, Bradley proved that he is one of the better point guards coming into the 2025-26 season.

This is the perfect game for Arizona to see Burries get back on track after a 3-point performance against Florida where he fouled out of the game. Getting a talented freshman like him back on track will be critical for the Wildcats moving forward.

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David Rochester chases down Harvard’s Evan Nelson / David DelPoio/Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Plus, this will give Arizona a chance to go deeper into its bench and see what it has from guys like Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson, who didn’t get many minutes against the Gators. The Wildcats will need to get production out of Nelson as the season moves along and in games where foul trouble occurs.

Please be sure to share your thoughts with us on our game prediction for the Wildcats game against Utah Tech. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.

Source: Utah News