No. 1 Arizona Shuts Down UCF in 84-77 Win to Remain Undefeated

It seems not even a cross-country trip can slow down the number one team in the nation, as the Arizona Wildcats used a second-half surge to dampen the UCF Knights’ dreams of an upset and stay perfect on the season.

Jaden Bradley And Mo Krivas Star In The Win For Arizona

After entering half-time with a slim 41-38 lead and star freshman Koa Peat struggling with foul trouble, the juggernaut Wildcats looked to be mortal for a change. That quickly dissipated thanks to the efforts of other Arizona players like Jaden Bradley and Mo Krivas.

Bradley would finish with a team-high 23 points as the senior steadied the ship for the Wildcats in the second half. Krivas would drop a monster double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds in the win. The Wildcats would finish the game shooting 52% from the floor and 23% from three-point range, as Arizona utilized their size advantage to find easy shots in the paint throughout the game.

The Wildcats also got great production from almost everyone during their win, as 5 players scored in double figures for Arizona. One of those performers came from the Wildcats’ always reliable sixth man, Tobe Awaka, who finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds in a great follow-up to his 25-point outing on Wednesday against rival Arizona State.

UCF Struggles To Find Offensive Consistency

It was a one-man show for the Knights in the game, as senior guard Themus Fulks was seemingly the only player to find the bottom of the basket consistently for UCF. The North Carolina native would drop a season-high 30 points and 8 assists in a heroic effort for the Knights. Those 30 points would tie Fulks with Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford for the most points scored against this Arizona Wildcats squad this season.

That would seem to be where the offensive production ended for UCF, as other star players like Riley Kugel would have a game to forget in this one. The Mississippi State transfer finished with 12 points on a rough 5-18 shooting as the Wildcats’ defense made it tough on the senior all game.

The biggest problems for the Knights reared their ugly heads again as UCF’s careless turnovers and lack of three-point shooting ultimately doomed them. The Knights would commit 13 turnovers in the game while shooting just 30% from three in the loss.

What’s Lies Ahead for Both Teams

It’ll be a nice break for the Wildcats following their long trip to Orlando today, as their next game will come against the Cincinnati Bearcats at home next Wednesday. The Bearcats are coming off one of the best wins in program history after demolishing the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones earlier today.

For UCF, they’ll have a chance for redemption next Tuesday, as they’ll head on the road to face off against that same No. 2 Iowa State squad in what’s sure to be a must-win game for both sides.

Current Big 12 Standings

As we reach a quarter of the way through the conference season in the stacked Big 12, there are some familiar faces perched atop the standings so far. This win moved Arizona to 5-0 and into a tie with both No. 11 BYU and No. 7 Houston for the time being.

The loss for UCF moves them down a tick as they stand at 3-2 in the Big 12, which is good fifth place in the standings. All teams in the Big 12 will play around 18 games during the conference season, with the Big 12 tournament set to tip off the week after it wraps up on March 9th.