Koa Peat scored 20 points, Jaden Bradley and Anthony Dell’Orso added 17 points apiece and No. 1 Arizona went on to an 86-73 victory over TCU on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Wildcats (16-0, 3-0 Big 12) are chasing the program’s best start since they went 21-0 to open the 2013-14 season. They have been in dominant form, winning the last 11 games by at least 13 points. Saturday was the closest margin of victory since a 71-67 victory over then-No. 3 UConn on Nov. 19.
Arizona never trailed.
The Wildcats got off to a fast start, taking a 19-8 lead at the 12:43 mark on a fastbreak layup by Peat in his best offensive performance since scoring 30 in the season opener. They went on to lead by as many as 21 in the opening half and enjoyed a 43-27 lead at the break.
TCU (11-5, 1-2) stayed in it with a couple of spirited runs in the second half. The Frogs opened with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-34, but the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 spurt. Bradley started that stretch with a pump fake 3 and then drove in for an easy layup, and capped it with a 3-pointer for a 53-34 lead with 15:42 left.
TCU battled back once more, pulling to within 65-58 on a 3-pointer by Tanner Toolson with just under seven minutes left. Once again, Arizona answered with a 3 by Dell’Orso that started a 7-0 spurt and provided a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.
Toolson finished with a team-high 20 points off the bench for TCU. Jayden Pierre and Brock Harding added 11 points apiece and David Punch finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Arizona won the rebounding battle 38-32, including 10 pulled down by Motiejus Krivas. The Wildcats also held a 42-32 edge in points in the paint.
Both teams return to action Wednesday. Arizona hosts Arizona State while TCU travels to No. 9 BYU.
–Field Level Media
