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Wildcats Handle Business: Arizona Beats UCF 81-59 to Stay Unbeaten in March

The second-ranked Arizona Wildcats cruised to an 81-59 victory over UCF in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Brayden Burries led the way with 21 points, while Tobe Awaka delivered a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Koa Peat chipped in 12 points for the No. 1 seed Wildcats. Arizona jumped out to a commanding 46-30 halftime lead, building as much as a 27-point advantage early, though UCF hung around for stretches before the Wildcats pulled away again in the second half. The win pushed Arizona to 30-2 overall, marking their 30th victory of the season—the ninth time in program history they've reached that mark—and extended their current winning streak to seven games.
Arizona's balanced attack and defensive pressure were on full display, as they dominated the glass and limited UCF to just 59 points on the night. The Wildcats shot efficiently throughout, capitalizing on transition opportunities and interior scoring to overwhelm the eighth-seeded Knights, who were coming off an overtime win in the previous round. Burries was sharp from the perimeter and in driving lanes, while Awaka's rebounding presence helped Arizona control the tempo and secure second-chance looks. It was a solid all-around effort from the top seed, who looked every bit the regular-season Big 12 champions in advancing deeper into the bracket.

Up next for Arizona is a semifinal clash on Friday night against No. 5 seed Iowa State, who advanced with a strong quarterfinal performance. The Wildcats beat the Cyclones 73-57 in their most recent meeting just over a week ago, but Iowa State has been one of the hottest teams in the tournament with blowout wins and elite defense. This matchup promises intensity, with Arizona's depth and scoring punch facing off against Iowa State's momentum and stingy play on both ends—expect rebounding battles and defensive stops to decide who moves on to Saturday's championship game.

After a double-bye to the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, we have a game!
On this edition of "What Reed Sees: UCF Big 12 Tournament Edition"

Pros
Krivas with back-to-back post touches? I like the way this game is starting off! (+)

Kharchenkov with two quick buckets? If he and Krivas are going to open the game being that aggressive? It is going to make it easier for Burries/Peat/Bradley to get their game. (++)

Peat is going OFF right now! He is playing like Lloyd told him to get shots up. (+++)

This game seems to be over and there is an entire half to play. 46-30 at the half? (+)

Burries is clearly the best player on this team. He is slowly proving that he needs to have the ball in his hands when the game winds down. (++)

Cons
Before this game even tips, again I am not worried that Arizona is going to lose this game. UCF does not have enough to pull it off. Even though I like their lead guard Fulks (-)

If Arizona was not blowing out UCF, their FT misses would be a HUGE problem! 11-22 (50%) from the line?

Lloyd put Gueye in the game to have a quick cup of coffee? In a game like this, Gueye should be getting a lot more minutes for the sake of allowing him quality minutes to develop against real competition. (-)

Comments
Arizona went on a drought. UCF went on a run. I looked at the score thinking the lead was lost? Arizona was still up 16pts!

Conclusion
UCF had two separate runs where they tried to close the gap. Arizona continued to make plays to keep the lead. In the end, Arizona wins by +20pts.

Next Up: Iowa State (Big 12 Semifinals)
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