TUCSON, Ariz. - No. 1 Arizona used a dominant second-half surge and interior play to pull away from Cincinnati, earning a 77-51 victory Tuesday night at McKale Center to remain unbeaten on the season at 19-0. 

The 51 points are the fewest Arizona has held a conference opponent to since Colorado scored 50 points on Jan. 4, 2024 in a 97-50 loss to the Wildcats. 

Motiejus Krivas led the Wildcats with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds, leading an Arizona frontcourt that controlled the paint from start to finish. Ivan Kharchenkov tallied 14 points and Brayden Burries finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds - his second double-double of the season. Koa Peat chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.
 

Jaden Bradley did a little bit of everything against a strong Cincinnati perimeter defense, closing with eight points, five rebounds, four assists (zero turnovers) and two steals. 

Arizona (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) turned a six-point halftime lead into a rout by outscoring the Bearcats 44-24 in the second half. The Wildcats leaned heavily on their size and physicality, finishing with a commanding 48-14 advantage in points in the paint and a 46-33 edge on the glass.

Cincinnati kept things close early, briefly taking a four-point lead midway through the first half before Arizona responded with a late run to go into the break ahead 33-27. The Bearcats struggled offensively all night against the Wildcat defense, shooting just 30.4% from the field and 4-for-21 (19.0%) from three-point range.

Baba Miller led Cincinnati with 14 points, while Shon Abaev added 13 off the bench. No other Bearcat reached double figures as Arizona's defense forced lots of contest shots at the rim and limited clean perimeter looks.

The Wildcats broke the game open midway through the second half, using an 11-point run to extend the lead to double digits and never allowing Cincinnati to get closer than eight the rest of the way. Arizona pushed the margin to as many as 26 late.

Arizona also capitalized at the free-throw line, going 20-for-28, and turned Cincinnati turnovers into consistent scoring opportunities in transition.

Next up for Arizona is a home game on Saturday against West Virginia, with tip-off slated for 12:00 p.m. MST in front of a national audience on CBS.