Arizona Wildcats' basketball schedule will have old-school feel — and late-night starts

The Pac-12 announced the exact dates for conference games and tipoff times for all games involving its teams Thursday, handing the Wildcats a schedule that has about a third of their games starting at 8 p.m. or later, including four 9 p.m. tipoffs.

UA will also play at least three Saturday afternoon games during the Pac-12 season, and two nonconference games at 10 a.m. Tucson time, while their season opener hits smack in the middle of a tropical Friday afternoon: The Wildcats will face Michigan State on Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. Hawaii time (5 p.m. in Arizona) at the University of Hawaii.

But the Wildcats also have plenty to be thankful for in their scheduling fate. With what compares to an old-Pac-10-style schedule, Arizona won’t have any extra-long road trips — with only one day between games of all four two-game road sets — and no road games on Sunday nights once the spring semester has started.

Arizona also won’t have to start Pac-12 play until Dec. 30 at California, giving the Wildcats at least four full days to enjoy a Christmas break following their Dec. 20 nonconference finale against New Mexico.

UA probably also benefits from not having to host Oregon, which snapped Arizona’s 49-game homecourt win streak last season and is the expected favorite to win the Pac-12 again. In addition, also because of the Pac-12’s unbalanced schedule, the Wildcats won’t have to make the long Colorado/Utah trip to face two teams that should be competitive again in the conference race.

And while they’ll be busy with a few days of Pearl Harbor appearances leading up to their regular-season opener, the Wildcats also won’t have to worry about condensation or other issues against Michigan State on a makeshift Pearl Harbor court.

The Nov. 11 doubleheader known as the Armed Forces Classic, which will also feature Indiana against Kansas in the second game, was moved from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to the more conventional Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii.

While the Armed Forces Classic game at Okinawa, Japan, was canceled at halftime last season because of moisture on the floor, ESPN Events VP Clint Overby said the decision to move this year’s games was made ultimately to play at a bigger venue. The Stan Sheriff Center holds 10,300 fans, and Overby said about 4,000 military personnel and their families are expected to attend.

“We learned a lot from Okinawa, but it came down to the build-out we would need to meet the demand,” Overby told the Star on Thursday. “The (University of Hawaii) facility was already there.”

Overby said the complete “immersion” experience the teams will have with the military will remain. The Wildcats are expected to take part in several events on the base, and tour the Arizona Memorial, in the days leading up to the games.