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No. 3 Florida (0-0) at No. 13 Arizona (0-0) | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas | 5 p.m. | TNT | 1290-AM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

0 G Jaden Bradley (6-3 senior)

5 G Brayden Burries (6-4 freshman)

3 F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 senior)

30 F Tobe Awaka (6-8 senior)

13 C Motiejus Krivas (7-2 junior)

Key reserves

10 F Koa Peat (6-8 freshman)

8 F Ivan Kharchenkov (6-7 freshman)

2 F Dwayne Aristode (6-8 freshman)

FLORIDA

1 G Xaivian Lee (6-4 senior)

0 G Boogie Fland (6-3 sophomore)

10 F Thomas Haugh (6-9 junior)

21 F Alex Condon (6-11 junior)

9 C Rueben Chinyelu (6-10 junior)

Key reserves

3 C Micah Handlogten (7-1 senior)

7 G Urban Klavzar (6-1 junior)

20 G Isaiah Brown (6-4 sophomore)

HOW THEY MATCH UP 

The series: Arizona and Florida are tied 2-2 all-time, but haven’t played each other since a hard-fought two-year series during the Sean Miller era. Florida won in overtime at Gainesville, Fla., during the 2011-12 season, and Arizona edged the Gators 65-64 the following season at McKale Center.

Game agreement: Arizona and Florida are playing a one-time matchup as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Series. The Wildcats will also play Hall of Fame-produced games against UCLA (in Los Angeles) and San Diego State (in Phoenix). UA has not returned the game contract despite two public records requests from the Star. 

Florida overview: Are back-to-back championships possible in the transactional, ever-changing NIL/transfer portal era? The Gators just might prove it is. Despite losing do-everything hero Walter Clayton and two other NBA players (Alijah Martin and Will Richard) from their national championship team last season, the Gators used their resources to help lock down the return of a huge frontcourt while also pulling point guards Xaivian Lee (Princeton) and Boogie Fland (Arkansas) out of the portal.

The Gators run a similar style to the Wildcats, especially with their offensive philosophy, with two established bigs down low and plenty of motion, but are experimenting with putting 6-9 power forward Thomas Haugh on the wing at small forward. The Gators are expected to play both Lee and Fland in point guard roles, while they have massive size and depth inside, led by preseason all-American Alex Condon and former Washington State big man Rueben Chinyelu, who collected 12 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the Cougars to a 77-74 upset of Arizona at McKale Center in 2023-24. He transferred to Florida before last season and has continued to emerge as an elite rim-protector, rebounder and screener.

The scout says: “Walter Clayton stepped up and made big plays for them, but also Condon, Haugh, Chinyelu, those guys that are still there are studs. There's a reason that they're a preseason top-five team after losing arguably the best college basketball player in the country last year.

“I would assume that Fland would step into that Walter Clayton-type role, but Xaivian Lee at Princeton was a marked man. I mean, he was the guy. Everybody had him circled on their scouting report, and he still produced. So you're talking about two really talented guards, and it's been reported that the Haugh is going to play a lot more three or on the wing this year, which gives them great size in their lineup.

“We have to run good offense and keep them out of transition. They were top three in the country last year in points per game. Condon presents challenges because he can pick and pop, he can shoot from the perimeter, he can score down low. They really trust him as a ballhandler out on the perimeter, in terms of getting the offense in the sets. Haugh is very similar, although I don't know much about how he'll be on the perimeter at the three. I know he's a good shooter, and I know he has great size… and Chinyelu was a very good player at Washington State and gave us fits in two games. I remember those being two of his better games as a freshman. He’s very physical, very tough, sets the tone for their team.�

KEY PLAYERS

FLORIDA

Alex Condon

Need another data point to prove NIL and revenue-sharing dollars are keeping some of college basketball’s best talent around? The multiskilled Australian big man is your guy. A former Aussie rules football player who is now a preseason Associated Press all-American, Condon can shoot from multiple levels and defend the rim.

ARIZONA

Jaden Bradley

The Wildcats’ senior point guard is not only likely to again play nearly every minute of games that are in contention this season, but he’s also expected to be a leader and more of a scoring threat. His plate gets a lot bigger starting Monday.

SIDELINES

Golden grew up a UA basketball fan

Florida coach Todd Golden may be known for his playing and coaching roots in the West Coast Conference, but before that, he caught the bug emanating out of McKale Center during the Lute Olson era.

That’s not surprising for a native of Phoenix who wound up leading Sunnyslope High School to the 4A championship in 2002 while later becoming a point guard at Saint Mary’s.

“I grew up an Arizona basketball fan, and my mom went to Arizona,� Golden told reporters in Florida last week. “With that Mike Bibby-Miles Simon-Michael Dickerson team that won the (1997) national championship, with Jason Terry coming off the bench, the freshman, and then the Jason Gardner era (that followed), all those guys … that was a really fun program to follow growing up.

“Lute Olson was one of the best coaches to ever do it, leading that program. And then as a player at Saint Mary's, I got to compete at McKale Center, which was a great experience.�

Golden had 10 points and two steals to help the Gaels give the Wildcats a scare at McKale in that December 2005 game, when Saint Mary’s led 34-27 at halftime of Arizona’s eventual 73-61 victory.

McKale North redux?

When Arizona left the Pac-12 in 2024, the Wildcats lost something of a home-away-from-home in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. There, nudged adjacent to the Park MGM and New York New York hotels, streams of fans wearing red arrived annually via the airport or easy drive from California or Arizona.

Maybe some of that vibe returns Monday, when the Wildcats return to T-Mobile Arena for the first time since they left the Pac-12 to play Florida, while BYU meets Villanova in the second game of an opening-night doubleheader.

“All those Pac-12 days, way back when, we had a great presence in Las Vegas,� Lloyd said, later adding: “Our fans love going to Vegas. And, from what I've heard, it's going to be a great crowd."

But while Lloyd is expecting some Florida fans to also show up, BYU fans from Las Vegas, Utah and California (and maybe even Arizona) also are expected to potentially rival Arizona’s for dominance inside T-Mobile.

Lloyd says he didn't know who the Cougar fans will root for in the first game, with UA and BYU scheduled to meet twice during the Big 12 regular season.

“I mean, I'm not rooting against them, so if they want to pull for us, it won’t bother me at all,� Lloyd said. “There’s a lot of really cool things about this. You have the defending national champs. You have Arizona, you have BYU with a really good team coming back, and one of the top recruits in (AJ Dybantsa) and let’s not forget Villanova has won two national championships very recently. So I think it's going to be just a great night for college basketball.�

Outgrowing Princeton 

Over his three seasons at Princeton, Florida transfer guard Xaivian Lee said Arizona was one of the best teams he faced.

You might remember that game: The Tigers upset the Wildcats 59-55 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Sacramento, California.

Lee was a limited role player as a freshman that season, logging just two scoreless minutes against the Wildcats, but his career has taken off since then. He became an all-Ivy League pick each of the past two seasons, and his stock rose so much that he gave up an Ivy League degree for the chance to grow via regular high-level competition this season.

"I’m chasing a larger goal,� Lee told the Daily Princetonian last April. “There’s an opportunity cost that comes with it, but for me, I want to put myself in the best position to achieve those goals. It’s definitely not easy giving up a Princeton degree.�

He landed at Florida after something of an eye-opening recruiting process, having transformed from a lightly recruited high school player into one of the top players in last spring’s transfer portal.

It was “very hectic, but it was fun,� Lee said last week. “The first time there weren’t as many coaches to talk to so this time around was very much the opposite. I was just trying to make the right decision, and I'm happy with where I landed.�

NUMBERS GAME

2: Million dollars Fland reportedly received after deciding to transfer to Florida from Arkansas.

11: Arizona wins in 13 games played in arenas sponsored by T-Mobile, counting a 9-2 record in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena and a 2-1 mark in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center during the Big 12 Tournament last season.

24: Seasons since ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV opened the regular season against a Top 5 opponent. The Wildcats upset No. 2 Maryland in 2001-02 despite being unranked after suffering multiple early NBA departures from their 2001 Final Four team.

— Bruce Pascoe