Arizona to face Rick Pitino, St. John’s at Madison Square Garden; Phoenix matchup to follow

Arizona men’s basketball will face Rick Pitino and St. John’s in a nonconference matchup in New York City this December, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein first reported on Thursday.

This season’s matchup will be played on Dec. 5 at Madison Square Garden, where the Red Storm play most of their home games.

They will play again in Phoenix during the 2027-28 season. It is not yet known where the Phoenix game will be held, but the Wildcats have played one nonconference game at the Phoenix Suns’ Mortgage Matchup Center in each of the previous three years.

With Arizona coming off its run to the Final Four, St. John’s is coming off its own to the Sweet 16. The Red Storm ended a slightly longer Sweet 16 drought (first since 1999) than Arizona’s Final Four drought (2001).

St. John’s used a buzzer-beating layup from now-Grand Canyon guard Dylan Darling to upset Kansas in the second round. That preceded its own loss to Duke by five points after leading by double digits earlier in the second half.

The Red Storm were considered a finalist for Arizona State transfer center Massamba Diop before he landed with Gonzaga. Their transfer class has instead been headlined by Syracuse wing Donnie Freeman, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Arizona Wildcats stacking nonconference schedule

The event is part of the New York City branch of the Hall of Fame Series, with Arizona already set to participate in another Hall of Fame Series game that tips off the season against UCLA in Las Vegas on Nov. 2.

The Wildcats are also among the eight teams that will participate in the 2026 Maui Invitational in Hawaii, along with BYU, Clemson, Ole Miss, Washington, VCU, Providence and Colorado State.

The nonconference slate also includes a home game against UConn, a return game from when the Wildcats knocked off the Huskies in Storrs 71-67 on Nov. 19.

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