The first time Arizona pushed its school-record win streak to 22 games, the Wildcats’ victory didn’t come against an opponent from the Pac-12, WAC, Border Conference or any conference at all.
Not even from an actual college.Â
The final, on Jan. 31, 1917: Arizona 52, Winslow High School 15.
It had been a good run.
“This season was another winner for the Wildcats," summarized Arizona's yearbook, The Desert, after UA went undefeated in 1914-15, "and we sure had some wildcats in the true sense of the word."
In that yearbook, and in the ones of 1916 and 1917, there was no mention of the streak that Arizona will have a chance to break Saturday against Oklahoma State.
It was just a collection of wins that actually took part of four seasons to accomplish.
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They included 12 wins over YMCAs from around the state, five against Tucson High School, one against the Fifth Infantry and another against what the 1915 Arizona yearbook referred to as a “strong Native Son team†from San Francisco.
That one appeared to be a seven-point blowout.
“The Varsity, although organized only a few days before the game, showed wonderful early season form and had little trouble defeating them in a rough game by a score of 25-17,†wrote the Desert, the UA’s yearbook, of that Native Sons matchup.
The 1916-17 Arizona basketball team went on a weeklong road trip in which it beat Winslow High School to reach a school-record 22 straight wins and then lost at New Mexico.
When told of that account, UA coach Tommy Lloyd jokingly pondered it for a bit. Like all modern high-major college coaches, he gets to work with the Wildcats for nearly four full months before every season begins.
“Hey, maybe there’s something to that,†Lloyd said. “Maybe I’m over-practicing these guys.â€
Arizona's first 22-game streak finally ended when the Wildcats moved on from Winslow to Albuquerque and lost the first collegiate game they had played in four seasons, 28-19 to New Mexico.
They continued on the journey anyway, facing what became New Mexico State (a win), the El Paso Cactus Club (a loss) and two games against Eastern Arizona Junior College, both wins.
“The Wildcats made a good impression in their three-state tour,†the Desert concluded, “and did remarkably well considering the fact that they were traveling most of the time that they weren’t playing.â€
Road trips are a little different now. First off, they aren't often taken via the actual road. And comfort isn't an issue, with charter planes, comfy buses and business hotels awaiting the Wildcats nearly everywhere they go.
So even though the Wildcats are being forced into about as difficult a turnaround as there is in modern-day college basketball — a home game Saturday and an away game on Monday at No. 11 Kansas — the Wildcats will still have plenty of time to relax Saturday night, work out Sunday, then fly directly to Kansas in plenty of time for a good night's rest.
Arizona’s Anthony Dell'Orso (3) celebrates with Jaden Bradley (0) after a break away dunk against Auburn during a game at McKale Center, Dec. 6, 2025.
It's different now. So even if the Wildcats finally wipe away that “record†Saturday by beating Oklahoma State and moving to 23-0, maybe the history should still stand.
That's the way Lloyd expressed it, anyhow.
“Back in those days, those guys were probably getting ready to serve in World War I,†Lloyd said. “I mean, we’re talking different times.
"I’m glad to share the record with the group of guys that played a bunch of high school teams from 1914 to ’17. They're part of our history, and they were probably going through a lot of different things in life than we are, so I want to be respectful of that.â€
Whatever they had going on — while World War I raged between 1914 and 1918 — the Wildcats of 1917 ended their season after that trip through Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas, having played just 12 games all season. They played just five games in 1915-16, including that battle with the Native Sons, and only nine in 1914-15.
“The only fault of the season was that Arizona did not have a chance to show the outside world just what she really did have,†the Desert wrote in 1915, “for the scarcity of games ended all too soon.â€
That won’t be a problem for this season’s Wildcats, no matter when or where the current streak ends. Game No. 23 is Saturday, the biggest Big 12 games are yet to come, then the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments.
In all, the Wildcats will finish with up to 40 games, all amplified by national broadcast coverage.
This time, they can show the outside world what they have.

