Wildcats still filling nonconference holes in 2026-27 men's basketball schedule

He’s also still playing a big role in creating the Wildcats’ nonconference schedule.

“I have got like 40 unread text messages from people hitting me up about buy games,” Benson said last week at the Combine in Chicago.

Benson said he still has to arrange five “buy” games, which are the home games against mid- and low-major opponents in which UA pays teams a guaranteed fee for making a one-time appearance at McKale in lieu of a return game or other compensation.

As of now, Benson said, the Wildcats will host NAU on Nov. 10 in the only arranged buy game it has so far.

The high-major portion of their schedule is much further along. In already announced games, UA will open the season against UCLA in Las Vegas on Nov. 2, host UConn at McKale Center on Nov. 18, and play in the Nov. 23-25 Maui Invitational.

Whlle Maui brackets have not been set, that field includes Clemson, Colorado State, Mississippi, Providence, VCU, Washington and BYU (which will likely be placed in an opposite bracket from Arizona as a fellow Big 12 team).

In addition, Arizona and St. John’s have agreed to but not yet contracted a Dec. 5 game at New York’s Madison Square Garden, while Benson said the Wildcats will play a high-major opponent to be named on Dec. 19 in Phoenix.

With a new NCAA rule allowing teams a maximum of 32 games next season, and the Big 12 playing an 18-game schedule, Arizona will have a 14-game nonconference season, including three games in Maui and the four other planned high-major games.

Peat slips in NBA mocks

Arizona forward Koa Peat slipped slightly in the major mock NBA Drafts after his NBA Combine performance last week, adding more drama to his stay-or-go decision ahead.

Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor even moved Peat out of the first round entirely, from 17th in his April 22 mock draft to No. 32 on Monday. ESPN's Jeremy Woo moved Peat down from 24th to 27th on his mock draft updated Tuesday, while CBS' Adam Finkelstein moved Peat from No. 12 in March to No. 18 on Monday.

Phoenix-based NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock also slipped Peat from No. 20 to No. 22 after watching him at the Combine.

Peat will have until May 27 to withdraw if he decides to return to Arizona.

Under the NBA's rookie salary scale, Peat would be slotted for a $3.9 million first-year salary if he was selected at No. 20, while a No. 30 pick would earn $2.9 million. Second-round picks do not have to be guaranteed contracts, but can still earn more than the $1.36 million rookie minimum.

Peat's NIL value is estimated to be between $3 million to $5 million if he returned to college basketball next season.

Diggs moves to '27 class

Top Arizona recruiting target Adan Diggs has announced his reclassification to 2027, where On3 still calls him the No. 1 prospect in his class.

The Goodyear Millennium guard starred along with incoming UA freshman Cameron Holmes as a sophomore in 2025-26 and said he was considering a reclassification that would allow him to play college basketball in 2027-28.

“It’s a very long process and it’s a very hard process,” Diggs told the Star at a USA Basketball camp during the Final Four.

On3/Rivals kept Diggs in the No. 1 spot despite his move from 2028 to 2027, and 247 Sports moved him up from No. 8 in the class of 2028 to No. 4 in the class of 2027, saying he has been playing well enough to warrant a higher ranking anyway.

During the high school season, 247 had Diggs rated No. 7 in the class of 2028, and Millennium coach Rich Thornton told the Star then that "there’s not six guys better than him, I can tell you that right now."

Rivals quoted Diggs saying recently that Arizona, BYU and Houston were the schools he has been hearing from the most. Diggs told Rivals he loved Arizona's culture and singled out UA coach Tommy Lloyd and Benson, who typically is heavily involved with in-state targets.

"They are all really good people," Diggs told Rivals of the UA staff. "The atmosphere there is crazy, to be honest. They brought me to one of their games, and everything about it was just amazing. The fans were great, you can’t hear anything in there, so it was just really fun.

“Seeing what Brayden (Burries) did there this year opens up a lot for me. We’re not the same player, but that role. I feel that if I were to go to Arizona, I could go be in that role that he had and have success like that.”

Parallel universe

After beating up Arizona in the Final Four semifinals, Michigan will wind up following the Wildcats through Lithuania this summer.

During their Aug. 14-23 trip, the Wildcats are scheduled to face the Lithuanian “B” team on Aug. 19 in Jonaya, Lithuania, the Ukrainian national team on Aug. 20 in Kedaninai; and the Lithuanian senior national team (including former UA standout Azuolas Tubelis) on Aug. 22 in Alytus.

While the Wildcats will head home on Aug. 23 because fall semester classes start the next day, Michigan will face the Lithuanian senior team on Aug. 23 before facing the "B" team on Aug. 24. Michigan will then head to Croatia and face Serbia's Mega Superbet on Aug. 27.

"This trip gives us the chance to compete, learn and spend time together before starting the fall semester," Michigan coach Dusty May said in a statement. "On top of that, they'll get to experience basketball in a different part of the world, which is pretty special."