Arizona Shoots Up the Latest AP Poll Following 2-0 Start

Arizona has started off the season on the right foot with an impressive win over Florida, which has caused them to shoot up the latest AP Poll.

Nov 7, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) holds up his arm after he makes a three pointer during the second half of the game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

After pulling off the upset over then-No. 3 Florida (1-1) to open the college basketball season in Las Vegas, No. 5 Arizona (2-0) was back in action on Friday night as the Wildcats faced off against Utah Tech in their home opening game.

The opponent drop off from Florida was massive and the Wildcats looked sluggish throughout parts of the game against the Trailblazers. However, Arizona took care of business walking away with a 93-67 win over Utah Tech.

Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Anthony Dell'Orso (3) reacts against the Oregon Ducks in the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Coming into the game, the Wildcats were (-33.5) point favorites but at the half it was only a 44-37 game with the Trailblazers being able to get to the line and knock down a few 3-point buckets.

As a team, Arizona shot 53% from the field but turned the ball over eight times, which led to 15 points on the other end for Utah Tech. The sloppy play from the Wildcats really kept the Trailblazers in the game during the first half.

However, Arizona was able to clean things up in the second half and turned the ball over only three times and finished the game with three turnovers.

Once again, the calming force for Arizona was point guard Jaden Braldey, who didn’t have a great scoring game with eight points but racked up six assists to just one turnover. Bradley was able to get the offense under control and back on track after a sloppy first half.

In the paint, Arizona was able to use its size to cause issues for Utah Tech as forward Tobe Awaka went for his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Awaka managed to go 5 of 10 from the field and get to the line four times.

Nov 7, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) reacts after a foul was called on him during the second half of the game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Now, With two games under their belt, the Wildcats will be getting ready to go up against NAU in the second home game of the season before Arizona heads to LA for a showdown against rival No. 15 UCLA (2-0).

As the Wildcats prepare for their third game of the season against NAU, the latest AP Poll was released, which saw Arizona jump up eight spots after the impressive win over the Gators.

Meanwhile, The Gators fell seven spots to No. 10 following the loss to Arizona.

Nov 7, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

In the Big 12, six teams started the year in the AP Poll, after one week those teams are a combined 11- record with No. 1 Houston, No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 25 Kansas.

The Jayhawks were the one team to take a loss as they fell to UNC, which dropped them six spots in the AP Poll.

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