Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

Published

2 months ago

April 6, 2026

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

The University of Arizona men’s basketball team closes out their historic season after losing to the University of Michigan in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats had a tremendous season, breaking program records and earning several different recognitions and awards.

Over the course of the season, the Wildcats dominated with a 36-3 run, breaking the program record for most wins in program history. Previously, this record was 35 wins during the 1987-98 season.

Many of Arizona’s players were recognized for their outstanding work during the season. Notably, senior Jaden Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Freshman Koa Peat and Bradley were selected to the West All-Region team. Peat also earned the Most Outstanding Player across the western regionals. Another notable recognition was Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries earning All-American honors.

Head coach Tommy Lloyd also received lots of well deserved praise for the way he led this team. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. After much discourse during the coaching carousel and the possible coaching job at the University of North Carolina, Lloyd recently agreed to a five-year contract extension with Arizona.

Regular Season Dominance

Right off the bat, the Wildcats showed promise in their team. The Red-Blue showcase was a great introduction to the team and demonstration of their talent for this upcoming season. As many predicted, they dominated in the preseason matchups against Saint Mary’s College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, blowing both teams out of the water.

Arizona continued to exert this dominance in their non-conference start to the season in November against tougher opponents. Their first competition was against the reigning NCAA Champions, No. 3 University of Florida, in Las Vegas. The Wildcats took the win 93-87, which was just the start of what was to come. Koa Peat made his college debut with a bang and proved he was a force to reckon with. Peat recorded 30 points on his debut, which also turned out to be his career high. When Arizona took the win against Florida, this was eye opening for a lot of people about the promise and talent that this team had to offer.

They had a close call against UCLA about two weeks later, taking the victory by a mere 4 points, 69-65. Arizona jumped significantly in the rankings since playing Utah Tech, where they were ranked No. 13, to taking the No. 5 spot. They only continued to climb in the AP rankings, inching up one position at a time. They were ranked No. 4 when they took the victory against No. 3 University of Connecticut, who won the national championship back in 2024. This win was just five days after they beat UCLA.

The Wildcats jumped right past the No. 3 spot after the UConn victory to the No. 2 spot as they took on the University of Denver, Norfolk State University and No. 20 Auburn University at home. After these three games, the Wildcats hit double digits and were holding a 10-0 record.

Christmas came early for the Wildcats as they grabbed the No. 1 spot in the AP polls in early December before playing No. 12 University of Alabama. Arizona held the No. 1 spot for nine consecutive weeks, which broke the program record that was previously held at eight weeks. They closed out their 2025 by adding four more victories to their roster, along with that No. 1 position.

After a notable regular season run, the Wildcats established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They became the first team in AP Poll history to beat five ranked teams in their first nine games.

Undefeated Conference Run

The Wildcats began their new year and conference season on the road as they took their first Big 12 victory, 97-78, against the University of Utah. The following Wednesday, the Wildcats returned home for their first conference game in the McKale Center to face another team of Wildcats, Kansas State University. They blew them out of the water, taking a 101-76 victory. Throughout the course of the season, Arizona had 17 wins where they took the victory by 20+ points.

They continued asserting their dominance on both their home court and on the road. The first rivalry game of the season against ASU was a close one, but Arizona came out unscathed taking an 89-82 win. The Wildcats picked up three more wins against the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University before heading back to Utah to take on No. 13 BYU.

This was a close victory with the Wildcats beating the Cougars 86-83. The Arizona freshmen met their match with BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, who was a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, but still is uncertain if he will enter the portal this season. Dybantsa recorded 24 points for the Cougars while Burries lead the Wildcats with 29. The Wildcats pulled through with a late rally to take the victory and remain undefeated in their season.

The Wildcats closed out January with another win against the school up north but this time in enemy territory. Following their game against ASU, Arizona took a victory against Oklahoma State University at home. This marked the Wildcats’ 23rd win, which was an Arizona program record, as well as achieving the best start in Big 12 history. Arizona and the University of Miami Ohio were the remaining undefeated teams at this point in the season.

Looking forward to their next game, they were taking on No. 9 University of Kansas on their home court. The Jayhawks handed Arizona their first loss of the season in a hard fight. Kansas was able to maintain their perfect home record on Big Monday, going 39-0 under head coach Bill Self. Going into this game, Arizona knew it would be a tough one as Kansas had home court advantage, but they also possess dominant freshman and veteran players. They were led by Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., who each collected 23 points.

After this loss on Monday, Arizona looked forward to their next home game against No. 16 Texas Tech University on Valentine’s Day. Not only was it a special day because it was Valentine’s Day, but it was also ESPN’s College Gameday, where 14,688 fans sold out the McKale Center to watch this nationally televised spotlight on the Wildcats.

This was the fifth time that Arizona has been the host, with the last time being in 2022. It was also the first time that a game was played in the new McKale Center at ALKEME Arena after the announcement of a 15-year naming rights partnership between Arizona Athletics and ALKEME Insurance. During this game, Arizona also honored former Wildcat guard Caleb Love who was welcomed into the Ring of Honor with a ceremony at halftime.

The Texas Tech game was a nailbiter, with the lead changing 11 times and having 11 ties. The game eventually went into overtime after Ivan Kharchenkov shot late free throws, but unfortunately the Red Raiders were too strong and took the win 78-75. JT Toppin collected 31 points and 13 rebounds while Christian Anderson recorded 19 points and six 3-pointers for Texas Tech. Arizona fought until the end and put up a good fight with both Burries and Tobe Awaka scoring in double figures.

Because of these two back-to-back losses, Arizona took a fall in the AP rankings from No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks to No. 4 as they prepared to take on No. 23 BYU for the second time this season.

Arizona managed to get back in the winning column to close out the rest of their season taking on some familiar faces like BYU and No. 14 Kansas for the second time this season, as well as new ones. They took victories against No. 2 University of Houston, Baylor University, No. 6 Iowa State University and University of Colorado, Boulder to round out the season. They managed to get redemption against Kansas and avenge their first loss of the season with a 20+ point victory margin 84-61 at home.

They secured the Big 12 regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed heading into the Big 12 Tournament.

Big 12 Champions

After the Wildcats closed out their conference season against Boulder with another victory, they looked towards the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Arizona was the No. 1 seed and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals, where they took on No. 8 seed UCF. It was a clean sweep victory 81-59 to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, they faced No. 5 seed Iowa State for the second time this season. Bradley cemented his name as the Big 12 Player of the Year after shooting a 3-pointer buzzer-beater to win the game and send Arizona to the finals. The Wildcats won 82-80 in a crazy finale.

Arizona faced No. 2 seed Houston in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament before stamping their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after a close win 79-74. This was the first time that Arizona has won the Big 12 Championship title since joining the conference back in 2024.

March Madness

Because of their pure dominance throughout the season and the Big 12 Tournament, Arizona was the No. 1 seed in the western region for the NCAA Tournament. All of Tucson buzzed with excitement over the start of the tournament, and most people made their brackets with Arizona taking the victory at the end of it all.

They headed down to San Diego for the first round of the tournament, where they played against No. 16 seed Long Island University. They took their first victory of the tournament with over a 30-point margin.

Later that weekend, Arizona advanced to play No. 9 seed Utah State University to finish out their weekend in San Diego. This was another victory to add to Arizona’s roster with the Wildcats’ winning 78-66.

Arizona returned home to Tucson, where they were greeted by loving fans showing their support upon their arrival to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. They had a quick turnaround, though, as they were headed up to San Jose for the second round of the tournament. That Thursday, they took on No. 4 seed University of Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

In this matchup, Arizona showed strong offense with both Burries and Peat scoring 21 points, Kharchenkov scoring 15 and Bradley, Awaka and Motiejus Krivas tallying 14 points each. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight after a 109-88 victory over Arkansas. This was their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2015.

The Elite Eight matchup was against No. 2 seed Purdue University. Arizona got off to a slow start, letting Purdue take the lead for the majority of the first half and going into halftime. The Wildcats made a strong comeback in the second half to come out with the 79-64 victory taking them to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.

Arizona was heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four where they were set to play the No. 1 midwestern seed University of Michigan. Arizona fans migrated to the midwest to support their Wildcats as they ended the 25 year drought since they had played in the Final Four. Unfortunately, this game did not go as the Wildcats had hoped. They were unable to find their rhythm against Michigan’s tough defensive strategy with their strong offense and high shooting percentage.

Arizona fell to Michigan 91-73 in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. Though they did not win it all after a very tough game, this does not diminish everything this team has done this season and everything they have done for the Arizona basketball program. This team will stand as one of the greats and did the Arizona and Tucson community proud on the national stage.

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Arizona

1st rule if you’re in Arizona’s bear country: Keep food out of reach

Published

9 hours ago

May 22, 2026

Press Room

1st rule if you’re in Arizona’s bear country: Keep food out of reach

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning people to be “bear aware” this Memorial Day weekend.
Human food is the most common cause of conflicts, as bears search for the 5,000 calories they need daily.
To stay safe, secure all food and trash, and never keep food inside a tent when camping.

Smokey Bear will not just be watching for fires this Memorial Day. He might be watching for food, too.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning outdoor recreationists to stay “bear aware” through the long weekend.

Food is the most common culprit of human-bear conflicts, according to the wildlife agency. Bears can show up to campsites, parks, even grocery stores in search of something tasty — they’ll eat just about anything in pursuit of the 5,000 calories they need a day during the summer, officials say.

“Bears are dangerous. They might look cute or cuddly, but they certainly have the capacity to inflict harm on humans,” said Paul Greer, a wildlife manager supervisor at the Game and Fish Department’s Region 1 office in Pinetop, in a May 20 news release.

But black bears are also shy and secretive. Available human food can lure them out of their forested hideaways, especially during dry periods like late spring, early summer and Arizona’s prolonged drought, which limit their natural food supply.

This Memorial Day weekend, revelers should be mindful of not leaving any food outdoors. That includes trash, barbecue grills, pet food and birdseed.

“If humans do their part, then the bears may pass through without getting the reward of those attractants, the trash and the human sources of food — the bears will just move on,” Greer said.

Bears learn to hunt for human food

Each March, black bears emerge from their winter hibernation, sometimes with new cubs in tow.

About 5,800 roam across 10,000 square miles of nontribal lands in Arizona, mostly in the northern and eastern parts of the state where the Sonoran Desert gives way to pinyon pine, juniper and oak woodlands. They are most concentrated along the Mogollon Rim, the Mazatzal Mountains and the Pinaleño Mountains.

Bears are usually active in the morning and evening, foraging for their usual fare — berries and nuts. But a few develop a taste for something more. It’s rare for bears to show aggression toward people, but bears that become accustomed to humans and human food can be public safety risks.

“When bears gain access to human food or garbage, it can quickly lead to food conditioning, where bears begin associating people and developed areas with an easy meal,” said Sarah Sparhawk, a public affairs specialist at the National Park Service.

There have been two deadly bear attacks on humans in Arizona since the 1990s. The most recent was in 2023 in Prescott.

Michael Colaianni, a public affairs director at the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said apart from a few typical reports of bears spotted on private land, there are no recent bear incidents or injuries in Arizona to report at this time.

Here’s how to stay safe from bears

Bear safety tips to keep in mind this weekend:

Keep food secure and inaccessible to bears.
When camping, don’t keep food in a tent and don’t burn leftover food on a grill.
When hiking, don’t wear scented lotion or perfume, keep pets on a leash and make noise or hike in groups.
In case of a black bear encounter, do not run or play dead. Instead, back slowly away while maintaining eye contact. Make yourself look bigger by waving your arms in the air or pulling your shirt/jacket up over your head.
If attacked, fight back.
If you see a bear in your neighborhood, do not approach it.

Unacceptable bear behavior, such as entering or attempting to enter human dwellings, tents or vehicles, approaching a human after it becomes aware of the human’s presence and any other aggressive behavior should be reported to the Game and Fish Department’s dispatch center at 623-236-7201. In an emergency, call 911.

Sarah Henry covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to sarah.henry@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram.

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Calls for Department of Justice to investigate DCS treatment of children with type 1 diabetes

Published

21 hours ago

May 21, 2026

Press Room

Calls for Department of Justice to investigate DCS treatment of children with type 1 diabetes

PHOENIX — An Arizona attorney is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the Arizona Department of Child Safety has a pattern of discriminating against children with disabilities after two boys with type 1 diabetes died in state custody.

Robert Pastor represents the families of Jacob Blodgett and Christian Williams, both of whom were placed in group homes by DCS and died after failing to receive the care they needed for type 1 diabetes.

In a sworn deposition taken on March 31, 2026, a DCS licensing manager acknowledged that diabetes is a disability protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and that the state is required to make accommodations for children with the condition.

Pastor said that admission stood out to him in the testimony, “How willing and readily they admitted that these children deserve to have the medicine they needed, and admitting that they knew this was a disability, they knew they had to accommodate it.”

Pastor also pointed to deposition testimony confirming there was no specific training given to group homes on the care and management of Type 1 diabetes before Christian’s death in July 2024.

“If you looked at those two cases in the pattern and behavior, you see that the Department of Child Safety put both children in group homes that were poorly trained and had zero knowledge or understanding of the disease,” Pastor said.

Last month, Pastor sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking federal officials to investigate whether DCS has a pattern of discriminating against children with disabilities.

“We need someone to come in who is not within the Department of Child Safety, because under the current administration, they’re unwilling to be critical of themselves. Take accountability and do what’s needed to make sure other children don’t die,” Pastor said.

Christian Williams was 15 years old when Mesa police body camera video captured him being found unconscious in July 2024.

The medical examiner ruled Williams died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a preventable condition caused by not having enough insulin.

Police records show he had been allowed to refuse his insulin, and when group home staff finally called 911, it was too late.

“They failed us,” his mother, Bobbie Williams, said.

Jacob Blodgett was 9 years old when he died from the same condition in December 2022. Records show group home staff also allowed him to refuse his life-saving medication.

“How could they have done this? How in the world could they have not taken care of someone with those medical needs?” said Cheryl Doenges, Jacob’s grandmother.

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The deposition also revealed that there is no written DCS policy, procedure, rule, law, directive, or memo stating that children can refuse necessary medical care.

Pastor said the sworn testimony makes clear that DCS knew insulin was life or death for children with Type 1 diabetes.

“What we’ve discovered is that both of these boys had a recognized disability. They were entitled to receive the medication they needed to stay alive,” Pastor said.

This would not be the first time DCS has faced federal scrutiny. In 2024, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division found DCS discriminated against parents and children with hearing disabilities and forced the agency to make changes.

“How many more disabled children are they ignoring? Are they not accommodating? Or how many other parents are they discriminating against because that parent has a disability?” Pastor said.

The DOJ would not comment on the call for a federal investigation.

A spokesperson for DCS also would not comment on the letter or its contents, as there is pending litigation with the two families.

However, DCS did say that since 2024 it has made changes, including new training for kids with complex medical issues, a diabetes field guide, and care kits as well.

Statement from DCS:

Since 2024, we have implemented changes to better support children with diabetes and the caregivers responsible for their well-being.
We recognize that caring for a child with diabetes can feel overwhelming, so we partnered with Creighton University to create a free training course to provide caregivers with the knowledge and tools needed to support a child’s diabetes care. The course is designed for anyone who cares for or works with children who have diabetes, including parents, foster and kinship caregivers, teachers and school staff, social workers, and childcare providers. Group home employees who work with children who have complex medical needs are required to take the training.
The course helps caregivers understand the differences between Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes; recognize warning signs of high or low blood sugar; know what questions to ask when a child with diabetes is placed in their care; how to collaborate effectively with medical providers and schools; and where to access important tools and resources.
In addition, we have created a field guide on diabetes in collaboration with medical experts from local hospitals. The field guide provides information on proper diabetes management; how to monitor and administer medication; and what DCS Specialists should look for on cases that involve a child with diabetes.
We also ensure that diabetes care kits are available at our welcome center so children entering care or experiencing placement disruption have their immediate medical and daily care needs addressed promptly and appropriately.

This story was written and reported by a journalist and revised with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Arizona

Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 21

Published

1 day ago

May 21, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 21

The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.

Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.

The MLB action continues on Thursday as the Colorado Rockies visit the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.

See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.