In the first half of No. 20 Arizona's game against BYU was a back-and-forth battle that had both teams knotted up at 41 at the end of the half. However, the Wildcats dominating effort on the glass and point guard Jaden Bradley scoring 17 second half points to led the charge as UA was able to handle the Cougars in a 85-74 win on the road in Provo.

Although Bradley led Arizona (16-6, 10-1 Big 12) in the second half with his 17-point performance, it was the Wildcats' defensive effort that created the space against BYU where they held the Cougars to 13 of 30 from the field an incredible 3 of 16 from the 3-point line.

Coming into the game, BYU (15-7, 6-5) was one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the conference hitting 37% from beyond the arc. Arizona's defensive effort focused on the 3-point line and UA held the Cougars 29% from deep on 34 attempts.

Leading the defensive effort was guard KJ Lewis, who was switched on several different BYU guards, who had gotten hot throughout certain points of the game. One of Lewis' defensive assignments was on guard Egor Demin, who had scored 13 points my the midway point of the second half by getting to the bucket with ease on what seemed like anyone who was guarding him.

When Lewis took over the defensive assignment, Demin struggled to get his shot going and scored just three points the rest of the way and finished the going 7 of 20 from the field.

On the offensive side of the ball Arizona not only had Bradley score in double figures, but three other Wildcats in Caleb Love, Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar scoring in double figures as well.

The trio combined for 49 points while shooting 59% from the field. The combination of Veesaar and Awaka not only put up high scoring numbers but also did damage on the glass by racking up 15 rebounds.

In all, Arizona dominated the glass 45-30 over BYU and eliminated second-chance 3-point looks for the Cougars. The Wildcats were able to win the war in the paint 42-36, which seemed to me a major difference in the game.

The win for Arizona keeps them on pace with No. 5 Houston (18-4, 10-1) at the top of the Big 12 rankings and a game ahead of No. 13 Texas Tech (18-4, 9-2), which are two of the hottest teams in college hoops.

Now, Arizona will travel back home to face off against Texas Tech looking to split the regular season series after dropping the first meeting in Lubbock. The game will be televised on ESPN with tip off time set for 8 p.m. (MST).

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