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The Pac-12 has set the women’s basketball pairings for the 2023-24 season. Arizona will face only one of the teams that finished above it last year twice next season but has some misses that it might wish it got to play more than once.
The Wildcats will face Oregon, Oregon State, Colorado, and Utah once each. Both Colorado and Utah finished above UA last year in the conference standings while Oregon and Oregon State had down years compared to recent history. Still, Oregon provided a strong NET opponent because of the schedule put together by head coach Kelly Graves.
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Both Colorado and Utah are expected to be strong again next year. Colorado returns fifth-year guard Jaylyn Sherrod, junior forward Aaronette Vonleh, and fifth-year center Quay Miller among others. Utah will see Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili back in the paint. The Wildcats will host both in McKale Center but will not make the return trip.
Oregon and Oregon State will be unknown quantities. The Ducks lost two of their top three scorers from last year, but they will return promising sophomores Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray. They also bring in three top 100 recruits. The highest ranked is No. 26 Sofia Bell. After missing the NCAA Tournament last season and having yet another season with multiple transfers out, the fan base has not been completely behind Graves. Whether they return to create the kind of formidable home court that Arizona used to face in Eugene is a question.
Oregon State also missed the tournament last season. On the plus side, the Beavers did not have any significant transfers out for the first time in years. Despite an overall losing record, they still beat Arizona in Corvallis last year for one of just four conference wins. That’s the only place the Wildcats will see them this year.
The Wildcats will face the other seven teams in the conference both home and away.
Dates, times, and television information will be released at a later date.
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