How Young Wildcats Can Bounce Back Against Cincinnati

The Arizona Wildcats welcome Cincinnati today. The Wildcats are looking to remain undefeated. The Bearcats are looking for the upset.

Jan 17, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) dribbles up the court in the second half against the Central Florida Knights at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-Imagn Images | Russell Lansford-Imagn Images

The Arizona Wildcats welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats for a showdown that has two teams looking to get a mid-week win. For the Wildcats, they will be heavy favorites and a team looking to remain undefeated. The Bearcats are looking to pull off the biggest upset in College Basketball this season. It is going to be a closer game than what it shows on paper, and the Wildcats will need to play better than their last time out if they want to remain undefeated.

The Bearcats are coming off pulling a massive upset win over the #2 ranked Iowa State team this past weekend. That made Iowa State drop to No. 9 in the AP Poll. Now, they will be looking to do the same to the Wildcats. Cincinnati is coming into this game with a lot of momentum and looking to get the No.1 team in the country now. That would be something massive for their program and to win the best two teams in back-to-back games would be something special.

Jan 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd talks with the referee during the first half of the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Arizona looking to avoid the upset

On the Arizona side, they are looking to avoid the massive upset. They need to play better in this game and look at the different areas they could take advantage of. The Wildcats will make those adjustments coming into this game. Head coach Tommy Lloyd and his coaching staff do a great job of putting their players in the best position to be successful.

In this game, look for the young Wildcat players to have a bounce back game. Last game, they struggled, and it is going to be important to see how they play in this one. If they play like we have seen them play for most of the season. Arizona will have a great chance to win this game.

Nov 29, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd calls for a player off the bench during the first half against the Norfolk State Spartans at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

"Getting to the free-throw line is a lot of things. It could be how strong you drive, or do you get knocked off your line. Are you able to hold your line?" said Tommy Lloyd.

"If you hold your line, obviously it looks refs will respect that and call fouls on it. It's not just the inside game. There's a lot of things that go into the foul pressure. Being a team that goes to the offensive glass, you can get a lot of fouls getting blocked out. When teams aren't used to maybe blocking out as often.There's lots of ways to do it. We love free throws. They're my favorite shots in the game. Layups too. I like layups too."

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