Arizona Wildcats point guard Jaden Bradley made 9-of-10 free throws in the last 1:17 as his shooting prowess complemented a late three-pointer from UCF’s Chris Johnson and four points from Riley Kugel to allow No. 1 Arizona to escape UCF with an 84-77 win on Saturday.
The Wildcats used a 19-2 run in the first half to take a 26-11 lead behind 12 of 14 points from Lithuanian big man Montiejas Krivas, who was 6-of-9 from the floor and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season.
“We have big guys, and we’re not afraid to play to that,” explained Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. “I feel really comfortable rotating those three bigs in there. They just probably had to play a little bit longer stretches in the first half than normally we’re accustomed to.”
UCF point guard Themus Fulks scored on an and-one to cut Arizona’s lead to 51-49 with 13:56 remaining in the game. Immediately afterward, Bradley scored six of his 23 points in a 10-0 Arizona sprint for a 61-49 advantage with 10:13 remaining.
Fulks hit a jump shot off the right wing before Arizona freshman Brayden Burries hit a fadeaway jumper from 15-feet on the left baseline to give the Wildcats a 65-52 lead with 7:23 remaining. UCF was 1-of-8 with three turnovers during the stretch.
Posting Up at Another Level
Facing Arizona’s front line is one of college basketball’s most formidable challenges. The Wildcats work in the paint and on the boxes with …
- 6-7, 220, Fr., Ivan Kharchenkov,
- 6-8, 235, Fr., Koa Peat,
- 7-2, 260, Jr., Montejus Krivas,
- 6-8, 255, Sr., Tobe Awaka.
“They’ve been out-rebounding teams by an average of 14, I think all season long, and so it’s the one rebound differential for us, and so I thought I was really proud of our bigs, especially for, for battling,” said Knights coach Johnny Dawkins.
The Wildcats have outscored 15 of their 18 opponents in the paint by huge differences, as only three teams have held a point differential in the paint that was below 10 points. In addition, Arizona came into the game outrebounding opponents, 43.6 – 29.4, on average. Awaka (9.8 rpg) and Krivas (8.3 rpg) are Lloyd’s top two rebounders.
UCF did an excellent job battling inside as the Wildcats outscored the Knights, 36-28, and outrebounded UCF, 37-36. The Knights outscored Arizona 19-5 on the offensive glass.
“We have big guys, and we’re not afraid to play to that,” said Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd. “I feel really comfortable rotating those three bigs in there. They just probably had to play a little bit longer stretches in the first half than normally we’re accustomed to.”
Kharchenkov was 5-of-6 from the field, and Peat, who picked up two fouls in the first 8.5 minutes, finished with four points and three boards, but established his defensive presence in his 20 minutes. Krivas patrolled the lane and hit a three-pointer from the top while Awaka (10.9 ppg, 9.8. rpg) had 10 points and nine rebounds, as he averages close to a double-double. Seven of the eight Wildcats in the rotation shoot over 50 percent from the field.
“We always feel like most days, we are going to have an advantage,” said Lloyd. “We are always going to test it. It is part of our DNA and part of our formula. I love big guys and I always will. The more, the merrier. I would play three or four at a time if I could.”
Dawkins was pleased with how his Knights fought and challenged Arizona’s posts.
“I was really proud of our Bigs for battling,” commented Dawkins. “I mean that team right there, I watched them on tape, and I thought our guys did a great job of following the game plan and trying to defend them. It’s hard to stop them, and they have great size and weight behind them.”
Fulks in Another Stratosphere
Knights point guard Themus Fulks once again proved to be an incredible leader in being able to break down the Wildcats as a playmaker. He finished with 30 points, eight assists, and five rebounds and was 11-of-18 from the floor.
“They tried to blitz the ball screen, they tried to go under the ball screen, and they tried to do everything to slow me down,” said Fulks. “I just tried to take my opportunities and when my teammates were open, get them the ball as much as I can.”
Fulks noted how he assessed his attributes and how he could apply them most effectively.
“I wasn’t looking for too much,” said Fulks. “That’s just my game. I try to play make, I try to do what’s best for the team, I’m a capable scorer, and I am known for my assists and passing.”
Fulks has averaged 17 points and 8.5 assists over his last six games.
“We didn’t have it going particularly that well offensively, so he stepped up and gave us that,” said Dawkins. “If you need scoring, he gives you scoring. If he needs just to facilitate, he’ll do that. And to me that’s a mark of a really good point guard.”
Lloyd noted that Fulks had dished out 12 assists in the last two games, which were wins over Cincinnati and Kansas State.
“He’s a heckuva player,” noted Lloyd. “He has good speed, good swag, and good confidence. We had him pegged as a little more of a passer, and we knew he can score it a little bit, so we told our guys he is a double-figures scorer. He hit some pretty tough shots.”
Fulks currently has 125 assists against only 51 turnovers while shooting 50.6 percent from the floor in UCFs’ 14-3 start. Freshman Jeremy Foumena and Jamichael Stillwell led the Knights with six boards each, while Fulks and John Bol contributed five.
Bradley and Burries Tough Perimeter Duo
Experienced senior Jaden Bradley is a stalwart on the point for Lloyd, as he is in his third year in Tucson. He is a playmaker with incredible confidence and led five Wildcats in double figures with 23 points while posting six rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes.
Burries plays like a seasoned veteran, and Lloyd noted that the 6-4 freshman from San Bernardino, Calif., is a “basketball junkie from a basketball family.”
His father and mother are Hall of Famers at Cal State San Bernardino, where his father, Bobby, starred in basketball and football. Hannah, his mother, played basketball for the Coyotes after she played softball for the Tennessee Volunteers.
“I’ll give Brayden a lot of credit,” Lloyd commented. “There were obviously high expectations for how he was going to play this year for us. He may have started a little bit slow, but he’s really hung with it. He’s just such a steady person that you knew that he would come through in the end.”