After a 25-point win in its Big 12 home opener against Kansas State, No. 1 Arizona faced its toughest test of early conference play. After the Wildcats jumped out to a 21-point lead, Arizona (16-0, 3-0) spent much of the second half staving off a comeback attempt from TCU (11-5, 1-2) on the road, outlasting the Horned Frogs 86-73.
Three Wildcats finished in double figures, led by Koa Peat, who scored 20 points, the most since his 30-point debut against Florida in the season opener in Las Vegas. Peat connected on 10-of-17 field goals, while also recording seven rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.
After a quiet game by his standards, Jaden Bradley bounced back with 17 points, all of which came in the second half. He shot 6-of-10 from the field, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. Fellow veteran guard Anthony Dell’Orso also had a bounce back game, scoring 17 points while connecting on 3-of-6 shots from 3-point range.
Motiejus Krivas followed up his double-double against K-State with a team-high 10 rebounds, while freshman Ivan Kharchenkov added six assists and two steals.
Four Horned Frogs scored in double figures, but it was Tanner Toolson who scored a team-high 20 points off the bench for TCU.
The Wildcats were the more efficient team from the field, shooting 34-of-67 (50.7%) from the field, while TCU shot 25-of-59 (42.4%). After connecting on just three 3-point baskets against Kansas State, Arizona shot it much better from the perimeter, connecting on 7-of-16 (43.8%) shots.
Tommy Lloyd’s squad also won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Horned Frogs 38 to 32, and imposed its will down low, scoring 42 points in the paint and 12 second chance points. Both sides play relatively clean games, with just 10 turnovers for the UA and 12 for TCU.
It was all Arizona early, which jumped out to a 26-9 lead midway through the first half behind a four-minute 18-3 run. A Motiejus Krivas bucket at the 6:30 mark of the first half gave the Wildcats a 21-point lead, their largest lead of the game. Fellow big man Tobe Awaka left the game with the help of trainer Justin Kokoskie, but returned before halftime, avoiding a serious injury.
TCU opened the second half with a 7-0 run, but an effectively used timeout by Tommy Lloyd killed the Horned Frogs’ momentum, as the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run of their own, including a 3-point bucket by Jaden Bradley, which kickstarted his 17-point half.
But TCU would not go away quietly. Jamie Dixon’s squad cut Arizona’s lead to as little as seven points with just under seven minutes to play. But a 7-0 run, including an Anthony Dell’Orso triple helped Arizona retake a double-digit lead, which it held onto until the final buzzer.
With No. 2 Michigan’s 91-88 loss to Wisconsin, Arizona should re-widen its lead as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll next week.
The Wildcats next game is Wednesday, January 14, when they host in-state rival ASU at 8:30 PM MST on FS1.