Top-ranked Arizona can reach win No. 20 without a loss, and come one victory shy of the school record start of 21-0 in 2013-14, when it hosts West Virginia on Saturday at noon at McKale Center.
The game will be televised on CBS (Channel 13) with Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg calling the action. Brian Jeffries, the Voice of the Wildcats, will announce the game along with Ryan Hansen on Wildcats Radio 1290-AM.
The Wildcats (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) enter Saturday as one of three unbeaten teams remaining in college hoops.
Nebraska (19-0) plays Saturday at Minnesota (10-9) at 10 a.m., Tucson time, and Miami of Ohio (20-0) will host UMass (13-8) on Tuesday at 11 p.m. as part of a “Pajama Jam” event.
Arizona has emerged historically successful behind three freshmen starters, including leading scorer Koa Peat (14.6 points per game).
“He’s so physical and he has such a great combination of balance, speed and physicality where he can control his body to where he’s not just bowling into you and falling down and charging,” West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said of Peat. “He can really carve out space and he’s so good in that foul line area. He puts a lot of stress on the interior of your defense.”
Wednesday’s 77-51 rout of visiting Cincinnati once again reflected Arizona’s balance among its top eight rotation.
Big man Motiejus Krivas led with 17 points, and freshman guard Brayden Burries finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Arizona’s defense limited the Bearcats to 17 of 56 (30%) from the field.
“It’s the combination of these things that has put them in the position they are in right now – it’s not like they are big and can’t play basketball,” Hodge said. “They’re big and can play basketball, and then when things get tight for them, Jaden Bradley has the ability to make late-clock shots and big plays in big moments.”
Arizona, which has not relied on its 3-point shooting, made only 3 of 13 from beyond the arc with Burries going 2 of 4. The Wildcats dominated in the paint again with a 48-14 advantage there.
“You’ve got to weather their storms the best you can and try and minimize their runs – make the 6-0 or 7-0 runs and not 22-2 or 15-5 type of runs,” Hodge said. “You just don’t want to help them. You don’t want to spit the ball out and turn it over and now they’re in transition and now they’re getting their size and athleticism into the game.
“You’ve got to do your absolute best to give them one shot, and one shot only, because the last thing you want to do is to give a very efficient offensive team more than one shot.”
Burries and Bradley committed just one turnover and produced eight assists.
Burries is averaging 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game. The San Bernardino, Calif., product is shooting 49.3% from the floor.
“I thought he was great today in a lot of areas,” Lloyd following the win over the Bearcats. “I thought he did a good job handling their pressure and handling the ball. For him and (Jaden) to run the point against a team that turns a lot of people over and have eight assists and one turnover, that’s a pretty impressive performance.”
The Mountaineers (13-6, 4-2) are competitive in the first year under Hodge. The Mountaineers have won four of the past five games following a conference-opening 80-59 blowout defeat at Iowa State on Jan. 2.
West Virginia’s previous three wins – against No. 22 Kansas, Colorado and at Arizona State – have all been by double-digit margins.
In the most recent two, senior Treysen Eaglestaff has produced well above his 10.6 points per outing.
A Bismarck, N.D. native, the forward has tallied 45 points — 23 at Arizona State and 22 against Colorado – as he reached 20 points for the fourth and fifth times.
The North Dakota transfer’s success has come from 3-point range: He has made 36 of 99 (36.4%) from long range. His 6-for-9 performance from beyond the arc helped the Mountaineers beat the Sun Devils.
“Honestly, he’s just comfortable,” said Hodge of Eaglestaff. “I think he’s comfortable now. He understands that we need him to be aggressive. We need his shot making.
“He really bailed us out in the first half. He kind of willed us into the game. … His heart and the work he has put in, it should be an inspiration to all of us.”
Honor Huff leads West Virginia at 16.6 points per game and shoots 38.9% from 3-point range. Brenen Lorient produces 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
West Virginia lost 75-56 at home last season in its only Big 12 matchup with the Wildcats.
The Mountaineers’ last game against a ranked opponent was a blowout 77-48 loss at No. 7 Houston on Jan. 13. That occurred a game after West Virginia upset No. 22 Kansas 86-75 at home.
“Welcome to the Big 12,” Hodge said. “We’ve already played at Iowa State and at Houston, and now we get to play against the No. 1 team in the country, but that’s what you love about this league. It’s going to challenge you in a lot of different ways and with that you get presented some incredible opportunities.”
NOTES
— The 19 consecutive wins mark the fifth time since the program started in 1904-05 that the Wildcats have had a winning streak of 19 or longer. The school record is 22 from 1914-17.
— The Wildcats are the unanimous choice for the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll for the first time in program history this week. It is the sixth straight poll – seventh straight week – Arizona has held down the top spot.
— Bradley is averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 assists in league play. He was named to the Big 12 “Starting
Five” this week for his performances last week vs. Arizona State (12 points and four assists) and at UCF (23 points).
— Arizona’s 19-game win streak is the third-longest to start a season in Big 12 history, behind Kansas in 1996-97 (22 games) and 2007-08 (20 games).
— In Big 12 play, Arizona has 100 assists to just 54 turnovers and is holding opponents to just 28.8% from behind the 3-point line. The Wildcats are also out-rebounding conference foes by more than 11 per game.
— As a team, the Wildcats rank among the nation’s best in rebound margin (second), scoring margin (fifth), field-goal percentage (seventh) and fastbreak points (10th).
— With a 71-6 record at home under Lloyd, Arizona is tied for third-most home wins in the country over that span.
— The Wildcats have made 375 free throws this season. Opponents have attempted 339.
— Arizona has shot 50% or better from the floor in 22 of 38 halves so far this season.
— In the first half of games this season, Arizona has outscored opponents by 207 points. In the second half, they have outscored opponents by 203.
— Arizona is second in the country in points in the paint/game (46.4); West Virginia is last in the Big 12 (28.5).
— Only once this season has the same player led Arizona in scoring in back-to-back games.
— Seven different players have scored 20 or more points in a game this season.
— Peat leads Arizona in scoring in Big 12 games (15.5 points a game) and has four double-doubles this season. He had 13 points and six rebounds against Cincinnati on Wednesday.
— Tobe Awaka leads the country in offensive rebounds/40 minutes (7.8). He scored a career-high 25 points against Arizona State on Jan. 14 and is shooting 64.9% from the floor in Big 12 play.
— Bradley is 9 of 13 from the floor in clutch time this season, according to CBBAnalytics;
— Freshman wing Ivan Kharchenkov is averaging 13 points on 65% shooting over the last three games. His 33 steals are second on the team.
— Krivas has 32 blocks this season. In the last two games, he averaged 17 points and 10.5 rebounds and shot 72% from the field.
— Burries leads Arizona with five 20-point games this season, shooting 37% from beyond the arc in his last 11 games.
— This will be the 17th time WVU has played an AP-ranked No. 1 team. WVU has defeated a No. 1 team fi ve times. WVU last played an AP No. 1 against Gonzaga on Dec. 2, 2020 during the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis. Gonzaga defeated WVU, 87-82. That was the last season Lloyd was an assistant at Gonzaga.
— WVU last defeated an AP No. 1 on Jan. 10, 2017, an 89-68 win over Baylor in Morgantown, W.Va.
— Arizona will be the longest trip in terms of mileage WVU has ever had to play a conference game – 2,068 miles.
— WVU is 2-4 in games played in Arizona (1-1 at 1992 Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, 0-2 at 2001 Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, 0-1 in 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 in Phoenix and 1-0 in Tempe with the win Wednesday at Arizona State).
— Huff is third in the country with 70 3-point field goals made. Last year, he led the country with 131
3-point field goals made. With 16 3-point field goals in the last five games, Huff jumped from 105 to 70 on the NCAA all-time career 3-point field goal list with 362. Huff needs 17 more to crack the top 50 all-time. As of Jan. 22, Huff is third in 3-point field goals made among active players: Chase Johnston, High Point (392), Nijel Pack, Oklahoma (370) and Huff (362) rank as the top three among active players. Huff had eight 3-point field goals in two games this season, becoming the first Mountaineer to hit eight or more3-point field goals in multiple games.
— Seven different Mountaineers have led the team in scoring and five different players have scored 20 or more points this season.
— WVU is sixth in the country in scoring defense at 63.1 points per game.
— In the latest Big 12 statistics, WVU ranks third in fewest fouls per game at 15.3 per contest and second in scoring defense behind Houston at 63.1 points per contest.
— West Virginia returned zero percent of its scoring and minutes played from the 2024-25 season. The Mountaineers are one of fi ve Power 5 teams to not bring back any scoring, joining UCF, Baylor, Miami and Indiana.
— Hodge spent the last eight seasons at North Texas, including the final two as head coach, posting a 46-24 record.In 2024-25, Hodge’s North Texas team won 27 games and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT in Indianapolis.
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