Despite having a team that shies away from 3-pointers more than almost anybody else in the country, Arizona placed "3" cards for fans to wave on lower-bowl seats inside McKale Center on Saturday.
"Actually, I think a better marketing ploy for our team would be if those signs said, 'Paint twos and free throws,'" UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "That's what I'm looking for."
In an 88-53 win over West Virginia on Saturday that kept them unbeaten at 20-0 heading into a showdown at No. 13 BYU on Monday, the Wildcats complied on all counts.
Led by guard Brayden Burries, who had 22 points and seven assists while making half of his eight 3-point attempts, the Wildcats made 10 of 23 overall from 3-point range.
Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) is smacked on the arm by West Virginia guard Honor Huff (3) while looking to pass from the lane in the first half of their Big 12 game, Jan. 24, 2026, in Tucson.
They also took care of the inside, getting 17 points from forward Koa Peat and 11 from center Motiejus Krivas, while outscoring the Mountaineers 36-28 in the paint and going to the free-throw line 19 more times. UA hit 16 of 23 free throws while West Virginia made three of just four attempts at the line.
Arizona was equally tough on the other side of the court. After holding Cincinnati to 30.4% shooting Wednesday at McKale, the Wildcats held West Virginia to just 34.4% shooting while the Mountaineers' leading scorer, guard Honor Huff, had 10 points while going 2 for 9 from 3-point range.
"They were really physical," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said. "They did a good job of being disruptive with the actions that we tried to run. Their size pretty much negates anything you're going to try to do in the interior.
"I did think, in particular early on, that we actually had some good looks from players that we wanted shooting the ball. If you're going to beat these guys or even give yourself a chance, you're going to have to make those shots."
But the Mountaineers didn't. So Arizona led wire-to-wire, going ahead by 20 at halftime, then 49-35 on a 3-pointer from Burries 90 seconds into the second half. UA never trailed by fewer than 21 points from there.
While West Virginia struggled offensively the entire game, Arizona wound up shooting 52.5% and made double-digit 3-pointers for only the fourth time this season.
UA shoots a respectable 36.4% from 3-point range but entered the game ranking 363rd nationally in the ratio of 3s taken to overall field goals attempted (27.1), often leaning heavily, as Lloyd indicated, on its interior strength and efficiency to win games.
Arizona forward Koa Peat (10) gets hit by West Virginia forward Brenen Lorient (0) on his drive in the first half of their Big 12 game, Jan. 24, 2026, at McKale Center.
"We showed up at the gym this morning for a little walk through and saw these 3-point signs," Lloyd said, smiling. "I think it reminded us that we needed to shoot some 3s."
Burries led that mission, hitting his first 3 just 65 seconds into the game and making 3 of 5 3s overall before halftime.Â
After Arizona beat defensive-minded Cincinnati 77-51 on Wednesday, the Wildcats initially broke out with 58.3% shooting over the first eight minutes, taking a 20-8 lead when Anthony DellâOrso hit a 3-pointer with 12:17 left.
Burries finished the first half with 13 points and five assists to help Arizona take a 43-23 halftime lead, and his total of 22 points marked the fifth time in the Wildcats' last 12 games that he's had 20 or more.
"He does what Brayden does. He's a tremendous scorer, uber talented," center Tobe Awaka said. "He shows it in practice and shows it in the game. So, really, it's what I expected."
Burries helped the Wildcats stay on top of what was a defensive battle for much of the first half. Then Peat took the lead while Arizona scored 10 points in the final three minutes of the half, with a 3-pointer, layup and free throw.
Reserve wing Dwayne Aristode capped the Wildcats' first-half finish by grabbing a loose ball on the perimeter during West Virginia's final possession and racing in for a layup just before time expired.
The win moved Arizona to 20-0 overall and 7-0 in Big 12 play while giving the Wildcats a chance to tie their best-ever start with a win Monday. Arizona was 21-0 in 2013-14 before a loss at Cal, when forward Brandon Ashley broke his foot.
Yet, as the Wildcats' decisive wins over Cincinnati and West Virginia this week might have indicated, they kept their heads down leading up to their much-anticipated game at BYU on Monday.
"You know, there's a lot of media attention, a lot of focus on us," Awaka said. "So it's just knowing that every single team is gonna come in and give us their best shot."
