Arizona will put its No. 1 spot in the rankings on the rankings when it travels to Indianapolis on Saturday for a showdown with No. 3 Purdue. The Wildcats are one of seven unbeaten Division l teams remaining and this weekend could mark their toughest test of the young season.
The Wildcats have been through a gauntlet of a nonconference schedule through the first six weeks of the 2023-24 college basketball season and have passed each test with flying colors. Arizona’s resume already includes wins over Duke, Michigan State and most recently, Wisconsin.
In their first game as the No. 1 team in the country in nearly a decade, the Wildcats defended home court with a 98-73 blowout win over then No. 23 Wisconsin. Arizona closes out its nonconference slate with games against Alabama and FAU before starting Pac-12 play later this month.
Purdue also has one of the more impressive resumes in the country after going 3-0 at the Maui Invitational last month with consecutive ranked wins over Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette. After suffering its first loss of the season to Northwestern earlier this month, the Boilermakers responded with wins over Iowa and Alabama to set up a top-five showdown.
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How to watch Arizona vs. Purdue live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16 | Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse — Indianapolis
Streaming: Peacock
Arizona vs. Purdue prediction, picks
The million dollar question is … can Arizona contain Zach Edey? The reigning national player of the year has been a force around the rim and is the early frontrunner to win the award, again. Arizona can counter with star big man Oumar Ballo, but he will need to stay out of foul trouble in order to have a chance at stopping Edey. With this being a de facto home game for Purdue because of the geographical location to the campus, it should be a rowdy environment. With that being said, Arizona already went into one of the more hostile environments in the country (Cameron Indoor Stadium) and secured a win. The Wildcats should be able to do the same this weekend. Arizona simply has more depth and coach Tommy Lloyd should have a gameplan to slow Edey down. Prediction: Arizona ML
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