Arizona holds off 19-point comeback, beats No. 16 Cincinnati 72-67
Arizona guard Caleb Love (1) reacts after scoring during an NCAA college basketball game against Cincinnati, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. Credit: AP/Jeff Dean
CINCINNATI — Jaden Bradley had 15 points, including two free throws that helped Arizona clinch a 72-67 win over No. 16 Cincinnati on Saturday.
Carter Bryant added 14 points and Caleb Love scored 12 as Arizona (8-5, 2-0 Big 12) won it’s second straight game.
Cincinnati (10-3, 0-2) lost for the second straight game. Dan Skillings Jr. scored 18 points and had two steals.
The Bearcats were down 19 points with just over 17 minutes remaining. They tied it at 64 with 58 seconds left on Skillings' layup. That was as close as they'd get to a comeback win.
Dillon Mitchell added 13 points for the Bearcats.
Takeaways
Arizona averaged about 97 points in its seven wins coming into this game, including three games over 100. It averaged 70 in its five losses. The 72 points are the Wildcats' third-lowest point total of the season.
Cincinnati started the season 6-0, but has dropped three of its last seven games.
Arizona forward Henri Veesaar (13) reacts after scoring during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Cincinnati, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. Credit: AP/Jeff Dean
Key moment
Love stole a pass from Jizzle James with under 10 seconds to go in the first half and was fouled by Skillings with less than a second remaining. He made one of two at the free-throw line to give the Wildcats a 39-26 halftime lead.
Key stat
Cincinnati has committed 39 turnovers in its three losses.
Up next
Both teams play Tuesday night: Arizona visits West Virginia and Cincinnati visits No. 25 Baylor.
