Star Arizona freshman Koa Peat sidelined with muscle strain in lower leg
- - Star Arizona freshman Koa Peat sidelined with muscle strain in lower leg
Jason OwensFebruary 18, 2026 at 6:33 AM
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Koa Peat will miss at least two upcoming games against ranked opponents. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After a 23-0 start to the season, things have gone downhill fast for Arizona.
The Wildcats have lost two straight since that start and fallen from their No. 1 ranking. And on Tuesday they revealed that they'll be without one of their best players for an extended period.
Arizona announced that star freshman Koa Peat has a muscle strain in his lower leg. He'll be re-evaluated next week without a precise timeline to return.
A four-star recruit, Peat has been a revelation for Arizona this season as the Wildcats have staked their claim as the nation's best team. He's Arizona's leading scorer behind fellow freshman Braden Burries with averages of 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 54.2% from the field.
He's been a spark for the Wildcats during their hot start that included wins over No. 3 Florida, No. 3 UConn, No. 12 Alabama, No. 13 BYU, No. 15 UCLA and No. 20 Auburn.
Peat sustained the injury during Saturday's loss to No. 16 Texas Tech, Arizona's second straight following defeat to No. 9 Kansas on Monday. Peat missed the entire second half and overtime of the 78-75 loss.
Now he faces an extended absence as Arizona approaches the stretch run of its season with four games against ranked opponents in its next five. Per the timeline provided by Arizona, Peat will miss upcoming games against No. 23 BYU (Wednesday) and No. 2 Houston (Saturday). His status beyond that is unclear with games against No. 8 Kansas and No. 6 Iowa State remaining on Arizona's regular-season schedule.
Source: “AOL Sports”
