No. 1 Arizona dominates in the paint, pulls away in 2nd half to beat Cincinnati

No. 1 Arizona outscored Cincinnati 48-14 in the paint as the Wildcats used a strong second half to beat the Bearcats 77-51 on Wednesday to remain undefeated.

Close first halves have been a trend for Arizona (19-0, 6-0) lately as the Wildcats got off to a bit of a slow start before grabbing a 33-27 lead at half. Cincinnati (10-9, 2-4) had momentum going into Wednesday’s contest, having beaten then-No. 2 Iowa State 79-70 on Saturday.

Cincinnati came out strong in the first five minutes of the second half, making it as close as a two-point deficit. After the Bearcats made it 40-38 around the six-minute mark of the second half, the game would not get that close again as Arizona outscored Cincinnati 44-24 in the second half to secure the win.

Center Motiejus Krivas led the Wildcats with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting with nine rebounds in the win. Guard Brayden Burries had 12 points with 10 rebounds, while Koa Peat scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Cincinnati forward Baba Miller led the Bearcats with 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting and grabbed two rebounds.

Arizona’s next game

Following the win, Arizona will host West Virginia at the McKale Center on Saturday. Tipoff is at noon and will air on CBS.

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