Battle of the Cats, #1 Wildcats defeat Bearcats 77-51

Cincinnati fell to 10-9 (2-4 Big 12) on Wednesday following its 77-51 loss to #1 Arizona.

The Bearcats simply had no answer for the Wildcats' physicality on Wednesday, as they outscored Cincinnati 48-14 in terms of points in the paint.

Motiejus Krivas led the way with a game-high 17 points, while snatching 9 rebounds in the victory. Freshman guard Brayden Burries also anchored the Wildcats offense after his stellar double-double performance, where he recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Arizona’s toughness and physicality wore down the Bearcats in the second half as they outrebounded the Bearcats 46-33 in the victory, which was the difference maker in this contest, behind huge nights from Krivas, Burries, and Toby Awaka.

Arizona now improves to 19-0 on the season, after spending the last seven weeks atop the college basketball AP Rankings.

Cincinnati was led by Baba Miller (14 points, 6 rebounds) and freshman forward Shon Abaev (13 points), but other than that, Cincinnati failed to get its offense going, to say the least. Day-Day Thomas and Jizzle James finished the game a combined 3-15 for just six points, which is the exact opposite of what Cincinnati needed in a matchup with the #1 team in the country.

The Rundown.

Arizona jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening seconds after Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov got the scoring started for Arizona. However, Baba Miller made this a 6-4 game after a thunderous slam that sparked some momentum for Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats continued to get downhill and attack, sparking a 7-0 run to extend their lead to nine. Cincinnati would then cut the lead to three after freshman guard Shon Abaev knocked down his first made three of the night to make this a 15-12 game heading into the under-12 media stop.

That three from Abaev sparked another eight-point swing in favor of the Bearcats, with six of those coming from Abaev after knocking down another triple, then three free throws after taking the mismatch on the wing vs Arizona’s big man Toby Awaka.

Arizona responded by finding a way to get big man Motiejus Krivas involved in the offense as the junior center was starting to become a mismatch problem for Cincinnati. Krivas sparked a six-point swing after two easy buckets within the paint, followed by a bucket from Koa Peat to give Arizona a 22-20 lead with 7:05 to play in the first half.

Cincinnati’s offense would go silent over the next five minutes before a bucket from Moustapha Thiam silenced the Wildcats run. Meanwhile, Cincinnati was able to get the Wildcats into some foul trouble, as freshman forward Koa Peat picked up two fouls within seconds of each other and did not play the final 6:17 of the first half.

Arizona controlled a 33-27 lead heading into the break after a late surge over the final eight minutes of play. Although the Bearcats' defense continued to keep them in the game, holding Arizona to just 37% from the field in the first half. Most importantly, they were able to keep Arizona off the three-point line as they held the Wildcats to just 1-7 from deep in the first half.

Despite the Bearcats' relentless defensive efforts, Arizona continued to prioritize getting to the basket. Arizona outscored the Bearcats 20-4 in terms of points in the paint as Thiam and Celestine battled early foul trouble along with Sencire Harris. Meanwhile, the Bearcats' bench rattled off thirteen points between Abaev and Celestine, which kept the deficit close in the final moments of the first half.

Day-Day Thomas recorded his first points of the night to cap off a five-point swing to open the second half. Thiam would then be whistled for a flagrant foul, his third foul of the game, with 18:37 to play in the second half, forcing Wes Miller to the bench early in the second half.

Arizona extended its lead to 38-31 after five quick points after a near three-minute scoring drought from Cincinnati. That was until Baba Miller came away with one of the most awkward basketball no-calls in recent weeks, resulting in a wide-open basket to cut the deficit to five, with 15:09 to play.

Jalen Celestine gave Cincinnati another lift after a huge contested three right out of the media timeout. Arizona continued to drop the ball inside to Krivas, who continued to be a physical mismatch for Cincinnati following six straight points. That would extend Arizona’s lead, making this a 48-38 game with 11:38 to play after Thiam picked up his fourth foul on the layup attempt from Krivas.

Cincinnati’s offense would go silent over the course of four minutes, shooting just 1-9 from the field, with the last bucket coming from Abaev at the 11-minute mark. Despite the Bearcats' defensive efforts down the stretch, Arizona continued to attack the paint with ease and came away successful more times than not.

Arizona extended its lead to 60-46 following a Flagrant foul on Baba Miller after getting tangled up with Krivas on the inside. Brayden Burries extended the lead to 19 after a three-pointer from the top of the key. Arizona continued to pour it on Cincinnati down the stretch as this game quickly got out of arm's reach for Cincinnati, as Arizona continued to showcase why they are the number one team in all of America.

Up Next

The Bearcats (10-9, 2-4 Big 12) will stay out in Arizona, ahead of their matchup with Arizona State on Saturday night. Tip-off for Saturday’s contest is set for 10pm.