Weird things have happened to Arizona in Salt Lake City in recent years. In 2022, an unbeaten Wildcats squad fresh off a dominant performance at the Maui Invitational laid an egg against Utah, and two years later the UA needed triple overtime to get past the Utes.
Arizona
Things Arizona Must Watch Closely Against Auburn
The 2025–26 Auburn team comes built with several players who pose serious threats. Here are a handful of the standouts Arizona needs to game-plan around.
Keyshawn Hall — Forward / Go-to Scorer
Hall transferred to Auburn after a standout season elsewhere, and in 2025–26, he’s already seen as the Tigers’ primary offensive weapon.
Hall’s 21.8 points per game is currently 10th in the nation according to ESPN, and his 9.1 rebounds per game ranks tied for 34th.
The most dangerous scorer on the team and a senior leader who can do a lot with his game will have to be Arizona’s top priority in limiting.
Hall’s combination of size ( 6’7”, 240 lbs), scoring instinct, and inside-outside game makes him a dual threat: he can punish you inside the paint or step out for perimeter looks.
Hall’s all-around ability in rebounding, rim presence and scoring means he could dominate the paint and stretch the defense. Containing him will require disciplined defense and physicality.
Tahaad Pettiford — Playmaking Guard & Offensive Catalyst
Pettiford is Auburn’s returning guard who drew major notice last season and has improved to start this season as well.
According to Sports-reference.com, in 2024–25, he averaged 11.6 points per game. To start this season, he is already averaging 14.1 points per game and 2.8 assists.
As a pick-and-roll creator or primary ball-handler, Pettiford gives Auburn pace and playmaking which is something that could test Arizona’s perimeter defense and transition discipline.
Even when not the highest-volume scorer, his ability to create offense, whether scoring or facilitating, means Arizona’s guards and help defenders have to find a way to contain him and limit his mobility.
Pettiford can push tempo, drive, and disorganize already aggressive defenses. If he gets to the paint, it could open up scoring lanes for others on Auburn.
KeShawn Murphy — Threat in Paint, Rebounder & Rim-Threat
Murphy, a transfer from Mississippi State, has been an impact player immediately for the Tigers.
According to ESPN, Last season he averaged 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, showing reliable scoring and board-control skills. This season, early on, the point production is similar at 10.6 points per game, but the rebounding is down to 6.4, possibly due to fewer minutes.
As a big man with mobility and ability to finish near the rim or operate in pick-and-rolls, expect Murphy to challenge Arizona’s interior defense and rebounding, especially if Auburn crashes the glass hard as they have for years.
A physical, smart big man like Murphy can dominate second-chance points and clog the lane, forcing perimeter to beat him tough if Auburn builds momentum.
Why Auburn’s Mix Presents a Potential Problem for Arizona
Balanced weapons: With Hall (scoring inside/out), Pettiford (guard-driven playmaking), and Murphy (rebounding & paint presence), Auburn boasts threats at all three levels — perimeter, mid-range, and inside. That makes defensive assignments difficult.
New but dangerous roster: The 2025–26 Auburn roster is heavily revamped with many newcomers and transfers, but that doesn’t mean they are inexperienced. Several incoming players, like Hall, Murphy, and guard rotation pieces, have high-level production from prior stops.
Versatility, pace, and adaptability: Auburn’s coaching staff seems to prefer a flexible, versatile scheme with motion, pick-and-roll, and shooting. That style, if executed, could stress Arizona’s defense and force mismatches or breakdowns.
What Arizona Should Focus On to Contain Auburn
- Physicality on the interior & limit second-chance points: Contain Murphy and Hall on the boards; challenge every rebound.
- Switch-heavy and disciplined perimeter defense: Pettiford and Hall could expose mismatches while rotating quickly and denying penetration will be key.
- Limit transition opportunities and guard the pace: Don’t let Auburn push early offense; force half-court sets where Arizona can better control matchups.
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On today’s Digital Pregame Show presented by Little Caesars, J.B Long, D’Marco Farr, and Maurice Jones-Drew preview the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 18 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium. The trio discuss key players to watch, game predictions, and more. Tune in for kickoff at 1:25pm PT on FOX.
Arizona State is bringing in Kentucky transfer quarterback Cutter Boley after he played 10 full games as a redshirt freshman in 2025, FootballScoop’s John Brice first reported with SunDevilSource’s Chris Karpman confirming.
He gives the Sun Devils a signal-caller with three years of eligibility who had major flashes as a young starter in the SEC, including a career-high 330 yards and five touchdown passes on 74.3% passing against Tennessee on Oct. 25.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Boley had 2,160 yards (65.8%), 15 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions on the season with 85 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
He was expected to take a two-day visit beginning on Saturday, but he committed before getting to the second day.
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham extended an offer to Boley as a high school junior while he was the 24th quarterback in the 2024 class and the coach was serving as offensive coordinator at Oregon.
Dillingham took more of an active role in the offense during the Sun Bowl on Wednesday, and he said postgame recent changes in administration have allowed him to focus more on football. It would make sense the active role carries over to the development of Boley.
He gets to ASU after the departure of Sam Leavitt, who has fittingly been linked to Kentucky in what could be a 1-for-1 transfer swap of quarterbacks.
More about ASU transfer QB addition Cutter Boley
The youngest SEC quarterback to get substantial time this season, Boley played mostly as a game manager with quick passes behind or near the line of scrimmage.
His six big-time throws — tracked by PFF as passes with “excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tight window” — were tied for last among 15 qualified SEC passers.
His 18 turnover-worthy plays, another PFF-tracked stat, were tied for fourth out of 15.
Comparing the stats to ASU’s quarterbacks this season, Leavitt had 18 big-time throws and 12 turnover-worthy plays in seven games. Jeff Sims had eight big-time throws and nine turnover-worthy plays in eight contests.
Because he has three years of eligibility remaining, Boley could eventually have to compete with young ASU quarterbacks Cam Dyer and Jake Fette, who will be redshirt and true freshmen, respectively, in 2026.
No such drama this time around.
Top-ranked Arizona jumped out to a 17-point lead before the second media timeout and then coasted to a 97-78 win at Utah on Saturday afternoon to open Big 12 play.
The Wildcats (14-0, 1-0) saw their streak of wins by at least 20 points end at eight, tying the school record set in 1928-29. But the victory was no less dominant than the previous seven, with the UA shooting 53.6 percent, finishing plus-13 on the boards and again getting five scorers in double figures.
Tobe Awaka and Jaden Bradley led the way with 18 points apiece, Awaka going 6 of 7 from the field and 2 for 2 from 3 while adding 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Bradley was 7 of 11 from the field and added five assists.
Brayden Burries and Koa Peat each scored 17 and Ivan Kharchenkov added 13 for Arizona, which scored in the 90s for the 10th time this season including eight of the last nine games.
Utah (8-6, 0-1) got 26 points from Terrence Brown and 15 each from Keanu Dawes and Don McHenry but shot 44.3 percent overall and just 5 of 17 from 3. The Utes turned it over 12 times, leading to 18 points for the Wildcats, who had 11 steals for their seventh game with at least 10 swipes.
The UA led 58-39 at halftime, its most points in the first half of a conference game since dropping 63 on ASU in 1998. That offensive explosion did not immediately carry over to the second half, though, as Arizona didn’t make its first post-halftime field goal until 17:06 left.
But then things went back to normal, with an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 70-46 with 13:56 to go. Utah followed with a 12-3 run to get within 15 but that was the closest it would get.
The only real drama down the stretch was if Arizona would again win by 20. It led by 21 after a Burries basket with 51 seconds remaining but Bradley fouled Utah’s Brown with 49.8 seconds to go in order to let backups come in and Brown made two free throws.
Utah scored the game’s opening basket and then Arizona followed with 14 in a row, which included a few baskets off Ute turnovers. Six of those points were byKharchenkov, who scored twice off steals.
The rout appeared to be on early, withAwakanailing a 3 to put the Wildcats up 27-10 with 12:16 left in the first half. But the UA went three minutes without a field goal, allowing Utah to cut the deficit to single digits.
A second-chance 3 by Brown got the Utes within 34-26 with 7:49 left in the half. But Arizona righted the ship on both ends, using a 10-0 run (with another Awaka 3) to build a 46-28 advantage. The Wildcats made their final six shots before the break, shooting 61.1 percent overall in the first half.
The UA plays its Big 12 home opener Wednesday against Kansas State. K-State (9-5, 0-1) fell 83-73 at home to No. 10 BYU on Saturday.
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