The Arizona Wildcats have a chance to close out the Big 12 regular-season title on Saturday afternoon, and the team standing in their way already knocked them off once this month.
No. 2 Arizona (26-2, 13-2 Big 12) hosts No. 14 Kansas (21-7, 11-4) at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena in Tucson in a rematch that carries serious conference-race implications. The Wildcats need a win to essentially clinch a share of the program’s first Big 12 regular-season championship. The Jayhawks, who pulled off the upset at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9, are still fighting for their own piece of the title with three games left.
Kansas vs. Arizona Game Details: Time, TV, and How to Stream
| Date | Saturday, February 28, 2026 |
| Time | 4 p.m. ET |
| Location | McKale Center at ALKEME Arena, Tucson, Ariz. (capacity: 14,688) |
| TV Channel | ESPN |
| Streaming | ESPN.com and the ESPN app (cable login required) |
| SiriusXM | Jayhawks on channel 84 • Wildcats on channel 198 |
| Kansas Radio | Jayhawk Radio Network – Brian Hanni (810 AM / 1510 AM / 99.3 FM KC; 94.7 KSKU / 99.3–1370 KIOL Wichita). |
| Arizona Radio | Wildcats Sports Radio 1290 AM |
What’s on the Line in Tucson
Arizona enters Saturday having won three straight after that Feb. 9 loss in Lawrence. The Wildcats sit atop the Big 12 standings, two games ahead of a four-way logjam at 11-4 that includes Kansas, Houston, Iowa State, and Texas Tech. A home win clinches the conference title and stamps a significant milestone on Tommy Lloyd’s tenure in Tucson.
Kansas isn’t just playing spoiler. The Jayhawks have gone 7-0 following losses this season under coach Bill Self, a pattern that speaks to a team built for adversity. They’re averaging 76.6 points per game with a plus-8.5 scoring margin and lead the Big 12 in both field goal percentage defense at 38.5% and blocked shots, according to KU Athletics.
Darryn Peterson drives much of the offense; redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller has stepped up with multiple double-doubles in recent weeks, adding a secondary dimension that makes Kansas harder to scheme against than its record suggests.
McKale, though, is a different animal. The Wildcats have lost just five home games over the past three seasons, and that building gets loud fast. Arizona has 12 Quad 1 wins this season, most in the Big 12, per KU Athletics data. This isn’t a team that needs momentum; it manufactures pressure.
The all-time series leans Kansas at 10-5, and the Jayhawks did go into Tucson and win their most recent visit there back in December 2008. Arizona got some measure of revenge when it knocked off Kansas in the 2025 Big 12 Tournament. Saturday is the first time these programs have met in Tucson as Big 12 conference opponents.
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Kansas beat Arizona as a slight underdog earlier this month, so the market respects the Jayhawks’ ability to compete, but road upsets against top-two teams with Big 12 titles on the line are a different assignment entirely.
This is the kind of Saturday afternoon game that reminds you why conference play matters. Both teams know each other well. The film has been watched. The adjustments are coming. Self is one of the best in the business at counter-punching, and Arizona will need to execute in the half-court the way it has all season to hold the Jayhawks off.
If the Wildcats win, they celebrate a program landmark. If Kansas wins, the final weekend of the Big 12 regular season becomes genuinely chaotic. Either way, clear your Saturday afternoon.
