Pacers make visit to University of Arizona to support Bennedict Mathurin
TUCSON, Ariz. (WISH) — The Indiana Pacers wrap up their west coast road trip on Sunday when they face the Suns in Phoenix.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. EDT inside Footprint Center.
It will be the Pacers’ sixth straight road game and fifth straight road game that has taken place out west.
The blue and gold are coming off a 118-115 loss in Portland on Friday night.
The players decided though on Saturday to make a stop in Tucson, Ariz. in order to show their support for guard Bennedict Mathurin.
That’s because Mathurin was inducted into the University of Arizona Basketball Ring of Honor on Saturday.
“We had to wake up pretty early this (Saturday) morning,” Mathurin said during a press conference. “So, seeing how my teammates care about me, pretty much says a lot.”
The Pacers shared the following photos on X, formally known as Twitter.
Mathurin played two seasons at Arizona. Those two seasons coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic since he was a Wildcat from 2020-22.
“COVID was really a big impact on my career (at Arizona),” Mathurin said. “I was fortunate enough to come to this school. Like I said, it was such a bad thing (COVID) that turned out to be great (learning from the experience).”
Mathurin played in 63 games as a Wildcat, averaging 14.8 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.
He was the Pac-12 Player of the Year during his sophomore season, and was also named the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player during that same year.
Mathurin was ultimately picked sixth overall by the Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft.
This season, Mathurin is averaging 14.5 points per game for the blue and gold, along with 3.7 rebounds per game. He has scored in double-digits in 13 of the last 14 games he’s played.
The Pacers will be back inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday night when they host the Denver Nuggets.