TUCSON, Arizona — Arizona’s free-flowing offense was on point, putting up another night of big numbers. The defense had some shaky moments, allowing Northern Colorado to keep it close well into the second half.
Once the Wildcats put their defensive foot down, they left the Bears stuck in the desert sand.
Christian Koloko had 19 points and blocked four shots, Kerr Kriisa also scored 19 points and No. 8 Arizona used a big late run to beat Northern Colorado 101-76 on Wednesday night.
“We obviously didn’t execute well defensively,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Our guys did a good job of not panicking, hanging in there and asserting their will and wearing them out over the course of the game.”
The Wildcats (10-0) had another strong offensive performance, yet had a hard time shaking the hot-shooting Bears. Northern Colorado kept it close through the midpoint of the second half before Arizona clamped down.
Their defense triggering offense, the Wildcats went on a 21-2 run to turn a close game into a rout and continue their best start since opening 12-0 in 2014-15. Arizona shot 53% and had 32 more points in the paint.
“When you have a target on your back, everybody wants to beat you,” said Arizona’s Justin Kier, who had 13 points. “We’ve got to take this game as an advantage and know we’ve got to come out and play every single night, and know everyone’s looking to beat us.”
Northern Colorado (6-6) was a 24 1/2-point underdog yet kept the upset bid intact well into the second half with good shooting.
Daylen Kountz kept the Bears close in the first half, scoring 23 of his 33 points. Dru Kuxhausen did the same in the second, scoring all of his 15 points.
Arizona eventually wore Northern Colorado down, stretching the lead to 27 points.
The Wildcats have been unstoppable so far in Lloyd’s first season, entering the game as one of seven undefeated teams in college basketball.
Arizona moved up to No. 1 in the NCAA’s NET rankings after rallying from a 13-points deficit for 83-79 road win against Illinois last weekend. The Wildcats lead the nation in scoring, scoring margin, assists and rebounds.
That figured to be too much for a Northern Colorado team that’s among the nation’s worst in scoring and field goal defense.
