CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Illinois said Friday it has signed a two-year contract with Arizona for a men’s basketball home-and-home series in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The Illini play in Tucson on Nov. 10, 2019, and the Wildcats will visit Champaign on Dec. 12, 2020. It will be Illinois’ first non-conference home-and-home series with a Power Five program since beating Vanderbilt in 2008-09.
Arizona holds an 8-6 edge in the all-time series with Illinois.
The most memorable games came in the NCAA Elite Eight. Arizona beat Illinois 87-81 in the 2001 Midwest Regional Final en route to the Final Four. Four years later, the Illini rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 90-89 overtime victory against Arizona to lock up its own trip to the Final Four.
