Freshman Brayden Burries logged 12 point, 10 rebounds and four assists as the No. 1 Arizona stayed unblemished with a 77-51 walloping of Cincinnati on Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz.
Motiejus Krivas totaled 17 points and nine rebounds, and Ivan Kharchenkov had 14 points as the Wildcats (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) wore down the Bearcats. Arizona’s leading scorer on the season, Koa Peat, managed 13 points and six boards.
The Wildcats shot 42.9% from the field but held Cincinnati to 30.4% in grinding out an impressive win.
Arizona held a massive 48-14 advantage in points in the paint.
After beating then-No. 2 Iowa State in their previous outing, the Bearcats (10-9, 2-4) saw their two-game winning streak come to an end as Baba Miller had 14 points and six rebounds. Shon Abaev netted 13 points.
Arizona was hot over the first 2 1/2 minutes, connecting on 4 of 5 shots from the floor and getting four points each from Peat and Kharchenkov for a 10-4 lead.
However, the Bearcats trimmed it to 15-12, and they did it by making 5 of 11 shots and limiting Arizona to just two field goals in nine attempts after the fast start.
Fouled on a 3-point attempt, Abaev made all three free throws to put the squad up for the first time 17-16 midway through the half, all while the Wildcats were trapped in an 0-for-10 shooting slump.
The half closed with a 5-2 run that left the Wildcats with a 33-27 advantage.
Burries’ follow-up of a miss with 17:06 remaining gave the Wildcats breathing room at 38-31.
As the frame reached the 13-minute mark, the Bearcats continued to hang in behind the play of the 6-foot-11 Miller, who was a matchup problem for Arizona as was 7-foot-2 Krivas for the Bearcats.
The Wildcats created their biggest lead at the time, 48-38, behind Tobe Awaka’s strong putback with 11:52 to go while the visitors were caught in a 1-for-11 skid from the field.
Arizona played its best in the final six minutes and moved to 6-0 all-time and 2-0 in Big 12 play vs. the Bearcats.
–Field Level Media
