No. 1 Arizona will focus on Abilene Christian on Tuesday night in Tucson, Ariz., after defeating its fifth AP Top 25-ranked opponent.
Arizona (9-0) became the first team in AP poll history to beat five ranked teams in its first nine games after taking down No. 12 Alabama on Saturday night in Birmingham, Ala.
Abilene Christian (7-3) comes to Tucson on a three-game winning streak, including a victory at Pepperdine on Dec. 2 and at home against New Mexico State on Dec. 6.
The programs, both nicknamed Wildcats, have never met.
Arizona showed its resourcefulness and depth against Alabama, with Brayden Burries achieving a career-high 28 points after Jaden Bradley dealt with foul trouble.
Burries had 20 of his 28 points, including 15 straight for the Wildcats, in the second half when Arizona pulled away after trailing 41-39 at halftime.
“I’m just thanking all my teammates and coaches, especially coach (Tommy) Lloyd,” Burries said. “Before the game, he talked to me and was like, ‘It’s gonna be a big one tonight, and I believe in you.’ It’s all I needed to hear, honestly. Just gave me all the confidence I needed, for real.'”
Reserve forward Tobe Awaka also pulled down 15 rebounds after Koa Peat was also on the bench with three fouls early in the second half.
Awaka and Motiejus Krivas nearly outrebounded Alabama all on their own. Krivas had 14 points and 14 rebounds, achieving his first career double-double.
The 29 rebounds for Awaka and Krivas were three short of the Crimson Tide’s total. Arizona, which outrebounded Alabama 52-32, had 22 offensive rebounds while the Crimson Tide had only three.
“The word we really hammered in on was endurance,” Lloyd said of the rebounding effort. “You have to have competitive endurance against a team like Alabama, because they just keep coming at you … our guys, I thought, they did that.”
Awaka, who comes off the bench after starting 36 games last season, averages 10.6 rebounds a game. Krivas is the next best for Arizona at 8.6.
Joseph Scott leads Abilene Christian with 6.1 rebounds per game.
Bradyn Hubbard averages a team-leading 16.4 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds for Abilene Christian.
Coach Brette Tanner expects Hubbard, a 6-foot-5 senior wing, to raise his level of play against teams such as Arizona.
Hubbard has 18 turnovers compared to 20 assists this season. In the 77-69 win over New Mexico State, Hubbard had 16 points, but he was 4 of 16 from the field.
“He gets fatigued, and then he makes bad decisions,” Tanner said. “He’s either got to get out of the game, or he’s got to be able to fight through some of that fatigue. That’s the next step for him from being a good player to being an elite-level player.”
