TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Motiejus Krivas scored 17 points, Ivan Kharchenkov added 14 and the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats pulled away late to beat Cincinnati Bearcats 77-51 on Wednesday night and remain one of three unbeaten teams in the country.
Arizona (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) entered as the unanimous No. 1 team in the latest AP poll – a first in school history.
Cincinnati (10-9, 2-4) tested Arizona with an early 14-1 run to take a 20-16 lead midway through a rugged first half, but Arizona responded for a 33-27 halftime advantage. The 7-foot-2 Krivas thrived in the physical environment with 8 points, five rebounds and a block before the break.
Krivas continued his good work in the paint during the second half, scoring a handful of tough, close-range buckets to keep the Wildcats ahead.
Arizona used a 20-4 run over a nearly 10-minute stretch of the second to methodically build a 58-44 lead. The Wildcats had a 48-14 advantage on points in the paint.
Cincinnati was coming off a 79-70 win over No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday. They were trying to become the first team to knock off the No. 2 and No. 1 teams in consecutive games during the regular season since Kansas did it during the 1989-90 season, beating LSU and UNLV.
The Bearcats were led Baba Miller’s 14 points. Cincinnati couldn’t overcome a tough shooting night, finishing just 17 of 56 (30.1%) from the floor.
Cincinnati guard Kerr Kriisa returned to the floor in a reserve role after missing four games with an upper body injury. The well-traveled Kriisa – now in his sixth college season – played his first three seasons for Arizona from 2020 to 2023.
The Wildcats recognized Kriisa’s return with a pregame video.
Cincinnati: At Arizona State on Saturday.
Arizona: Host West Virginia on Saturday.
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| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| S. Abaev | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| J. Celestine | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| J. Rodriguez | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Tillery | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| H. Dzellat | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T. McKinley | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Kriisa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Haynes | – | – | – | – |
| G. Darbyshire | – | – | – | – |
| B. Buckingham | – | – | – | – |
| L. Atauri | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 51 | 27 | 8 | 23 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| M. Krivas | 17 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| I. Kharchenkov | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| K. Peat | 13 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| B. Burries | 12 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| J. Bradley | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| T. Awaka | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| D. Aristode | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Gueye | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Dell’Orso | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| A. Arnold | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| E. Nelson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Djopmo | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| J. Francois | – | – | – | – |
| J. Cook | – | – | – | – |
| M. Mawut | – | – | – | – |
| B. James | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 77 | 42 | 15 | 14 |