With nine days until the season opener, the Arizona basketball team will play its only exhibition game against Division-II Augustana College on Sunday at McKale Center.
The Wildcats will only have one exhibition game this season, as opposed to the two they had a year ago. Sunday will be Arizona head coach Sean Miller’s final chance to evaluate his players in a real-game situation.
“”We’ve been together for a long time now, playing against each other and hearing the same things,”” Miller said. “”I think everyone is anxious to play in front of a crowd and against a different team.””
Though this will be Arizona’s first exhibition game, it has played in front of a crowd and against an opponent during the preseason but not simultaneously.
The Wildcats first played in front of a crowd for the annual Red/Blue scrimmage on Oct. 24, but that was against one another. On Saturday, Arizona played against the University of Utah in a closed scrimmage that wasn’t played like an official game but was more about both teams working on game situations against an opponent.
“”It was a great experience for us,”” Miller said about hosting the Utes over the weekend for a scrimmage. “”One thing about a scrimmage is that you’re able to stop the action, you’re not as worried about fouls. You have the competition element of playing against a Division-I team, but you can also really show your team some unbelievable things on film.””
Though Augustana is a Division-II opponent, don’t expect the Arizona players to assume anything.
“”We’re just going to go out there and play as hard we can, just as we would against any other team,”” said junior guard Kyle Fogg. “”They may be a Division-II school but I think they did well last year.””
Augustana, which is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, posted a 24-7 record last season. The Wildcats had no problem against the Vikings in last season’s first exhibition game, winning convincingly 92-76 at McKale Center.
Coach Miller named sophomores Momo Jones, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams, junior Kyle Fogg and senior Jamelle Horne the starters for Sunday’s game. Though Miller has his starters for the game, nothing is set in stone.
“”It’s not necessarily who starts the game but the amount of minutes they play,”” Miller said. “”I think that’s where the competition is.””
