PHOENIX (AP/AZFamily) — The moon will look slightly bigger and brighter Wednesday during the closest supermoon of the year, which can be seen from Arizona!

The moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t a perfect circle, so it gets nearer and farther as it swings around. A so-called supermoon happens when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. That makes the moon look up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, according to NASA.

November’s supermoon is the second of three supermoons this year and also the closest: The moon will come within just under 222,000 miles of Earth.

Tides may be slightly higher during a supermoon because the moon is closer to Earth, said astronomer Lawrence Wasserman with Lowell Observatory. But the difference isn’t very noticeable.

No special equipment is needed to view the supermoon if clear skies permit. But the change in the moon’s size can be tough to discern with the naked eye.

“The difference is most obvious as a comparison between other images or observations,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, in an email.

Supermoons happen a few times a year. One in October made the moon look somewhat larger, and another in December will be the last of the year.

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No. 13 Arizona got the season started on the right foot. The Wildcats traveled to Las Vegas and took down the defending champions, No. 3 Florida, behind an aggressive effort inside the arc, winning 93-87.

Tommy Lloyd’s new-look Wildcats opened the Hall of Fame Series with three freshmen in the starting lineup. Koa Peat, Ivan Kharchenkov, and Brayden Burries all found themselves in the starting five, while fellow freshman Dwayne Aristode found minutes off the bench in the eight-man rotation.

The Wildcats also got a strong showing from arguably its most important piece: veteran guard Jaden Bradley. Guard play is so important in early games to offset some of the rust that teams are bound to have. Arizona had the more experienced option, and it paid off.

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Bradley scored 27 points on 9-of-14 from the field. He added five assists and picked a pair of pockets in the win. His leadership allowed the rest of the Wildcats to settle in to more defined roles, letting the offense hit its stride.

While Burries had an off night and Aristode only spent six minutes on the floor, the other two freshmen who saw action were instrumental to the team’s success.

Peat led the way with a 30-piece as his hello to collegiate basketball. The highly-touted freshman isn’t totally new to Lloyd’s system. He played under Lloyd on the Team USA U19 National Team over the summer, where he said he got a head start on learning his role.

His role on Monday? Barrel his way down low and finish at the rim, with a splash of playmaking in between. He added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block to his line. He shot 11-of-18 from the field, all within the arc, and sunk 8-of-12 from the line.

Peat became the first player to score post at least 30 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals in their collegiate debut since 2002, and he did so against Florida’s championship-level front court. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh had no answer for the Arizona freshman.

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With just under seven minutes left in the game, tied at 70-70, Peat got the crowd buzzing. Peat set a pick and rolled to the basket, leaped and reached sky-high for a lob from Anthony Dell’Orso, and slammed it home with his right hand.

With the crowd on it’s feet, Peat served up an encore for the Las Vegas audience. After grabbing a board on the next possession, Peat jogged right down the middle lane and jammed it down with two hands, this time with a feed from Bradley.

KOA. PEAT. 😤😤😤 @kpeat10 pic.twitter.com/q4NMmIP4Qi

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025

It was a nearly flawless debut for Peat, and it instantly raised the alrady high expectations he has in Tucson.

“It was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” Lloyd said postgame. “Everyone’s known about him, but no one’s really studied him and watched him. He’s a special player. The way he came out in that atmosphere, and he went against a first team All-American, and that kid’s a heck of a player. Koa obviously more than held his own.”

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The freshman from Germany and Bayern Munich alum earned a spot in the starting lineup over the veteran sharpshooter Dell’Orso, and made Lloyd look like a genius in doing so.

In 35 minutes of action, Kharchenkov had 12 points and 10 rebounds, recording a double-double in his Wildcats debut. He also nailed both of his shots from long range, which happened to be the only triples Arizona hit in the game on five tries.

Kharchenkov departed for the locker room during the first half, but later returned and finished the game strong. He’s a guy that’s been on Lloyd’s radar for awhile, and now it’s all coming to fruition.

BANGGGGGG🔥 Cats lead 47-42 with 2:23 left in the first half pic.twitter.com/lWgRglsSqW

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 4, 2025

“He just turned 19, but he’s played high level basketball,” Lloyd said. “He was coached by a guy named Pablo Laso. You guys might not know that name, but he was also the guy that coached Luka Doncic at Real Madrid. I’ve gotten to know Coach Laso over the years. A couple years ago Coach Laso was the head coach of Bayern Munich, where Ivan was playing, and so I obviously called to do my homework, and he’s just like, ‘Tommy, you’re going to be blown away how ready he is from day one.’

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“He’s also had some ups and downs and practices, but for him to come out today like he did on this stage, was impressive,” Lloyd continued. “Because what I’ve been on is you know what about rebounding, and he led us in rebounding tonight. So that shows me he’s a good learner, so it probably gives me the liberty to keep getting on him.”

If Kharchenkov can be another reliable piece for three this season, assuming the Wildcats shoot more than they did on Monday, Arizona can truly be a complete offense and a threat from every spot on the floor. It was definitely a positive sign to see him step in so seamlessly to the college game.

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• The Cincinnati Bearcats will face the Arizona Wildcats at noon on FS1 following their bye week.
• This marks the fifth daytime kickoff for the Bearcats this season and the third at noon.

For the fifth time this season, the Cincinnati Bearcats will have a daytime kickoff, and for the third time boot will meet ball at noon.

After the coming bye weekend, UC is back in action at Nippert Stadium against the Arizona Wildcats. Monday, Nov. 3, the game was announced as another “Nipp at noon” to be televised on FS1.

Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert

The Bearcats are 5-0 at home, taking a pair of noon games from then-ranked Iowa State and UCF, a pair of 3:30 starts from Bowling Green and Northwestern State and a 4 p.m. start from Baylor Oct. 25.

UC is coming off a disappointing showing at Utah, where they lost 45-14 in a game that was the equivalent of a 10:15 p.m. start in the Eastern time zone. Now, they’ll entertain Arizona from the Mountain Time Zone, meaning the kickoff for those watching in Tucson will be 10 a.m.

Still no ‘Nipp at night’ for Cincinnati Bearcats fans

Though fans enjoy the night atmosphere and teams like Utah thrive in it, UC has not had a night home game this season. The previous two seasons, they have had but three. In 2023, UC lost to the Miami RedHawks in September and to Kansas in the November season finale. Last season, they didn’t have a home night affair until the snowy season-ender vs. TCU.

After Arizona, Big 12 leader BYU is scheduled to come Nov. 22. That could be an evening possibility, but the time has yet to be released by the Big 12 and could be determined by how each team fares. BYU is at Texas Tech this weekend for ESPN College GameDay. The regular season ends in Fort Worth against TCU Nov. 29 at a time to be determined.

Cincinnati Bearcats at night under Scott Satterfield

This season, in road night games, they are 1-2 with the Nebraska loss in Kansas City, a win at Oklahoma State and the Nov. 1 defeat in Utah.

In UC’s first Big 12 campaign in 2023, they had six night games, but just two at home. They won at Pitt, lost vs. Miami University, lost at BYU, lost at Oklahoma State, won at Houston and lost vs. Kansas. That’s 2-4 overall.

Last season, it was a loss at Texas Tech, a loss at Colorado, a loss at Iowa State, a loss at Kansas State and a loss vs. TCU to put them 0-5 under lights.

Despite the popularity of football under a darkened, fall sky, the Bearcats are just 3-11 with the moon in view the past three seasons.

What about Arizona?

The Wildcats are 5-3 after crushing Colorado 52-17 Nov. 1. They are 3-3 in the Big 12 with the win over the Buffaloes and victories in Tucson over Kansas State and Oklahoma State. They lost at Iowa State, at home to BYU in double overtime and at Houston.

UC and Arizona have never met in football.