Arizona flew to Knoxville as a team on Tuesday, but after losing at Tennessee the Wildcats scattered in all directions for the holiday break, taking advantage of an NCAA loophole related to pre-Christmas travel.
The NCAA allows schools to pay for student-athletes to fly home for a minimum 3-day vacation period as long as it’s from the site of a non-home game. The UA last did so in 2019 when its final game before Christmas was against St. John’s in San Francisco.
That means guard Justin Kier, who is from Virginia, has a much shorter flight (and one he or his family doesn’t have to foot the bill for) while Christian Koloko will be spending Christmas in Los Angeles with his sister and Azuolas Tubelis said he and brother Tautvilas Tubelis will be in Phoenix at Tautvilas’ girlfriend’s home.