Arizona used an early 11-2 run to take a 22-9 lead early and take control of the game. A dominant first half was the difference for Arizona in the 81-70 win. Arizona shot 53.6 percent in the first half and made 7-12 three-point attempts. Baylor shot 25.9 percent in the first half and was 1-9 on threes. Arizona led 42-19 at halftime.
Arizona had trouble closing for the third time in its last four games, but ultimately earned its seventh straight win overall and fifth in the Big XII. Henri Veesaar led Arizona with 19 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Arizona had great balance with seven players scoring at least eight points.
Arizona took its largest lead 49-19 with 18:55 left, before Baylor slowly got back in the game. Baylor cut the Arizona lead to nine multiple times late in the game but never got any closer. The Bears outscored the Wildcats 51-39 in the second half. Baylor shot 69.0 percent from the floor and made 5-11 threes in the second half.
Four Baylor players scored in double figures, led by Robert Wright with 16 points. Baylor finished the game shooting 48.2 percent but made only six of their 20 three-point attempts. Arizona was exceptional offensively, shooting 53.7 percent from the floor and making seven of its 14 three-point attempts.
Arizona outscored Baylor 22-9 in points off turnovers, 13-5 in second-chance points, 35-16 in bench points, largely because of Veesaar and had a 21-11 advantage in assists. Arizona maintained a lead for 37:24 and experienced a tie or deficit for 2:20. Baylor was missing two players because of injury.
The win over Baylor was huge because it improved Arizona to 3-5 versus quadrant one opponents in the NCAA Net Ratings. Arizona is all alone in first place in the Big XII with a 5-0 record. Texas Tech hosts Arizona on Saturday with a noon Mountain time tip-off on ESPN2.