The Arizona men’s basketball players are dying to compete against someone other than one another.

They’ll get the chance against Concordia of Montreal, Quebec, in their first exhibition game Sunday afternoon at 2:30 in
McKale Center.

“”I’m really sick of seeing Chase’s face every day,”” UA guard Daniel Dillon joked as forward Chase Budinger walked up to his locker near Dillon’s after the team’s annual Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday.

“”It’s not a very pretty-looking face,”” he added with a grin.
Most of the players have

scrimmaged against one another nearly every day for the past few weeks in practice and for several months during the summer and fall in McKale pickup games.

“”It’s going to be great,”” said guard Nic Wise, who scored 13 first-half points in the scrimmage, including 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. “”I feel sorry for the other team, because we’re sick and tired of playing against each other every day. We’re going to take all of our anger out on them pretty bad.””

The No. 17 Wildcats boast new uniforms and six new players this season, but it’s their defense that they are really excited to flaunt. New assistant coach Kevin O’Neill’s scheme, designed to jam up the paint, will be on display for the first time against an actual opponent.

Though O’Neill did not like the defense played in the first half Tuesday, each team held the other squad to a typically low score for an Arizona team, said UA head coach Lute Olson.

The Blue team got the best of the Red team 76-63, after the Blue team won 93-81 in last season’s game.

“”That just goes to show you how much better our defense has gotten,”” Wise said. “”I’m pretty sure when we play Concordia, (the Stingers’ score) will be in the 50s.””

The Stingers have averaged 81 points in eight nonconference and tournament games already this season, winning six of them.

Arizona killed Team Georgia 125-74 in its first exhibition last season. Wise and Budinger each scored 24 points as freshmen. Wise shot 8-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point land.

“”We’re the same offensive team,”” said senior guard Jawann McClellan. “”We’ve put some new wrinkles in the offense that we didn’t show (Tuesday). We’re ready to get out there and show everyone what we’ve got.””

And 1

After being held out of the scrimmage because of a knee sprain, forward Jordan Hill will play Sunday, Olson said.

“”He could have played (Tuesday) if it had been a regular game,”” Olson said, “”but he’ll be ready to go on Sunday.””

Forward Fendi Onobun, however, will miss the game because of shin splints, after also sitting out the Red-Blue Game, Olson said.

“”It’s still to be determined about how long I’ll be out,”” Onobun said. “”It’s still kind of sore. It was just overuse.””

How to reserve your men’s basketball tickets

For every game you must:
1. Visit zonazoo.arizona.edu.
2. Click the box “”Zona Zoo men’s basketball.””
3. If you registered last year, skip to step 6. Otherwise, create an online user account.
4. Enter you e-mail address and Student ID number.
5. Follow the steps. Reserve the game(s) you want.
6. Bring your Cat Card to the Zona Zoo entrance – lineup starts four hours prior to game time.

Note: Steps for “”Red”” Zona Zoo members only. If you are a “”Blue”” Zona Zoo member and would like to upgrade to Red, you can pay the $35 difference. Games become available for reservations the week before the game, so right now members can reserve tickets to Sunday’s game only.