TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats will open a five-game homestand Saturday night with a 9 p.m., contest against Baylor. The Wildcats will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with three home games in eight days, before breaking for the holidays and returning for a pair of Pac-12 games to open the conference season. 

Saturday's contest marks the first matchup between Baylor and Arizona since 1997. The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Bill Walton on the call. 

Baylor at Arizona
Saturday, Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. (MST)
TV: ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein & Bill Walton)
Radio: Arizona IMG Radio Network (Brian Jeffries & Ryan Hansen)
Twitter: @APlayersProgram
#BearDown

OFF THE TOP

• Arizona and Baylor will meet Saturday night at McKale Center for their first matchup since 1997. The Wildcats have won the previous two matchups and four of the past five against the Bears. It will mark the first meeting between Sean Miller and Scott Drew as coaches. 
• The Wildcats are 87-3 in their last 90 games at McKale Center. The three home losses are the fewest  by any program nationally since the start of the 2013-14 season. Stephen F. Austin has five losses in that span, while Wichita State, Villanova, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas all have six. 
• Arizona has won 52 consecutive home non-conference games. The Wildcats last suffered a home non-conference loss in 2011 versus San Diego State. Arizona is 143-14 in home games under Coach Sean Miller.
• Arizona has won 158 total games since the start of the 2013-14 season, which ranks fourth nationally in that span behind Villanova, Gonzaga and Kentucky.
• Sophomore guard Brandon Randolph is averaging 17.1 points per game this season. He averaged 3.7 points per game last year as a freshman. His scoring improvement of 13.4 is the best of any Power 5 player this season and would be the best by any Arizona player since at least 1976. 
• Randolph is shooting .923 (36-39) from the free throw line to lead the Pac-12. He has the highest mark by an Arizona player through 10 games since Nic Wise (.960, 48-50) in 2009-10. Arizona is shooting .764 from the line as a team, which is the best mark through 10 games since 2012. 
• Redshirt junior center Chase Jeter has taken 16 charges in 10 games this season. 
• After traveling 13,926 miles in non-conference play, the Cats will play their final three non-conference games at home.

RANDOLPH'S IMPROVEMENT
Sophomore Brandon Randolph has started his sophomore season in style. Randolph has scored in double figures in all 10 games this season and is averaging 17.1 points per game. As a freshman last season, Randolph played in 31 games, drawing four starting assignments. He averaged 3.7 points per game, scoring a total of 116 points. Randolph's scoring increase of 13.4 points per game is the biggest of any player in a Power 5 Conference. Jordan Nwora from Louisville is second with an increase of 12.5. It's also the largest increase from one season to the next by any Arizona player since at least 1996. The previous best was a 10.2 increase by Luke Walton from 2000-01 to 2001-02. Walton went from 5.5 points per game to 15.7. He is the only Wildcat to make a double digit increase in that time span. Randolph has also surpassed his rebounding total as a freshman. He had 26 rebounds last season and already has 31 this year. Randolph is the first Arizona guard to score in double figures in each of the first 10 games of the season since Gabe York in 2016. He's one of six players in the Pac-12 this season to score in double figures in each of his team's games. Here's a closer look at Randolph's production so far as a sophomore versus his time as a freshman.

2018-19 (Sophomore)    17.1 ppg    3.1 rpg    17 3-pointers    .465 FG%    171 total points
2017-18 (Freshman)    3.7 ppg    0.8 rpg    14 3-pointers    .383 FG%        116 total points

Largest Scoring Increase by a Power 5 Player Averaging 13 or more PPG
Player                            School                                Scoring Increase From Previous Year
Brandon Randolph        Arizona                                +13.4
Jordan Nwora               Louisville                              +12.5
Kimani Lawrence         Arizona State                        +11.4
Marial Shayok              Iowa State                            +11.1
Savion Flagg                Texas A&M                           +10.5

CONNECTING AT THE FREE THROW LINE
Through 10 games this season, Arizona is shooting .764 from the free throw line, which is the team's highest percentage through 10 games since posting a .773 mark in 2012. The Wildcats have converted 162 of 212 attempts and rank second in the Pac-12 behind Oregon. Nationally, Arizona is 27th in free throw percentage. Guards Brandon Randolph, Justin Coleman and Brandon Williams have led the way at the line. Combined, the three guards are 97 of 109 (89 percent) from the line. Randolph (36-39, .923) leads the Pac-12 Conference in free throw percentage and Coleman (24.27, .889) is second. With Williams (37-43, .860) also excelling, it marks the first time in the Sean Miller era that Arizona has had three players at 85 percent or better (20 or more attempts) at the line through 10 games. Randolph's .923 mark is the best by an Arizona player through 10 games since Nic Wise hit 48 of 50 through 10 games for a .960 percentage to start the 2009-10 season. 

FREQUENT FLYERS
Arizona's non-conference schedule is taking the Wildcats all over the country. The Wildcats first hit the road last month for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, traveling to Lahaina in Maui. The Cats then made the trek to Hartford to take on UConn and will travel to Alabama next weekend to take on the Crimson Tide. 

Mileage Breakdown of Arizona's Non-Conference Travel
Tucson to Maui (round trip): 5,798 miles
Tucson to Hartford (round trip): 5,054 miles
Tucson to Tuscaloosa (round trip): 3,074 miles
Total Miles Traveled in Non-Conference Play: 13,926

JETER STARTS STRONG
Chase Jeter arrived at Arizona prior to the 2017-18 season after transferring from Duke, but had to sit out the season per NCAA rules. In his first 10 games as a Wildcat, Jeter has been a presence in the paint and a threat down low. Jeter is averaging 12.4 points per game and 7.8 rebounds a contest with three double-doubles. He's scored in double figures in eight of the 10 games. He registered a career-high 19 points last time out against Alabama and grabbed nine rebounds, missing a double-double by one board. In the first game of the Maui Invitational, Jeter had a career-high 12 rebounds to go with 10 points. He finished the tournament with a 14-point outing against Auburn. Jeter also played 30 or more minutes twice in Maui against Iowa State and Auburn, marking the first two times in his career (including Duke) he played 30 or more minutes.  He played a career-high 34 minutes Sunday at Alabama, going 9 for 16 from the field. 

CHASE IN CHARGE
Not only has Chase Jeter been productive scoring and rebounding, he's also been Arizona's top charge-getter this season. A play Coach Sean Miller values as much as any in basketball, Jeter has taken 16 charges in nine games this season. Jeter took four charges in the finale in Maui against Auburn. Jeter has taken at least one charge in every game this season and at least two in four of the 10 games. Jeter has taken more than half of Arizona's charges this season. As a team, the Wildcats have drawn 30 charges, with Jeter drawing 16.

52 STRAIGHT
Arizona's win over Utah Valley on Thursday marked 52 straight non-conference home wins for the Wildcats. Arizona's last non-conference home loss came in 2011 to San Diego State when the Aztecs outlasted Arizona 61-57. A little more than a week later, Arizona beat Northern Arizona 53-39 and hasn't looked back since. Arizona beat Clemson, Oakland and Bryant in non-conference play to close out pre-conference play in 2011. The Wildcats went 7-0 in home non-conference games last season, notching wins over Northern Arizona, NCAA Tournament darlings UMBC, CSU Bakersfield, Long Beach State, Alabama, North Dakota State and Connecticut. Arizona will play three more home non-conference games against Baylor, Montana and UC-Davis. 

GOLD STANDARD AWARDS    
In his 10th season at Arizona, Coach Sean Miller has started a new tradition within his program. After each game, Miller awards seven different honors to his team for various aspects of the game. The awards recognize players who are shining in areas that may not always show up in box scores or stand out to fans. A full list of winners from the Alabama game are below:

Gold A: Chase Jeter
Playmaker of the Game: n/a
Rebounder of the Game: Chase Jeter
Hustler of the Game: n/a
Screener of the Game: Ryan Luther
Defender of the Game: Dylan Smith
Sixth Man of the Game: Ryan Luther

AKOT IMPROVING AS A STARTER
Sophomore forward Emmanuel Akot came off the bench for the first six games this year for the Wildcats before being inserted into the starting lineup. In the six games as a reserve, Akot averaged 2.8 points per game, 2.7 rebounds a contest and was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and 6 of 20 overall from the floor. In four games as a starter, Akot has seen an increase in production. He's averaging 5.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and is 3 for 7 from 3-point range and 9 of 22 overall from the floor. He's averaging 24.0 minutes per game as a starter, up from 16.9 as a reserve.