Social Media Reacts to Arizona Rolling Past UCF in Quarterfinals

Arizona continues its hot streak and steamrolls UCF in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Wildcats defeated the Knights, 81-59, to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.

The Knights gave the Wildcats a good run in the second half, but there was never a moment when the Wildcats were in real danger. When these two teams matched up in the regular season, it was a close game, but the Wildcats made sure not to give the Knights hope in the tournament game.

Brayden Burries gives me Jamal Murray vibes
— Eddie Perez (@CreateHoops) March 12, 2026

The Wildcats will play Iowa State tomorrow, and the winner will advance to the Big 12 Championship game.

Here is how social media reacted to the Wildcats' big-time win over the Knights

Brayden Burries is a lottery pick.
Brayden Burries is a lottery pick.
Brayden Burries is a lottery pick.
Brayden Burries is a lottery pick. pic.twitter.com/eMa1DkoL7Q
— My Takes & Thoughts (@ThoughtsNGibber) March 12, 2026

The Wildcats stifled the Knights for the first 17 minutes of the game. They held leading scorer Riley Kugel to zero points in the half, and he committed three fouls. Kugel is averaging just under 15 points on the season, but the Wildcats held him in check in the first half.

The Knights turned the ball over five times due to the defense from the Wildcats, and they took advantage. The Wildcats scored 12 points off turnovers and built a huge lead. At one point in the half, the Wildcats were up 35-8.

THE Big 12 Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/Rma3Tjadzi
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 12, 2026

The Knights did make some noise in the last three minutes of the half, going on a 12-5 run. This cut the lead to 16 points. The Wildcats led 46-30 at the break. Brayden Burries was the leading scorer with 12 points, including two 3-pointers.

The Knights made the game interesting by carrying that momentum they gained at the end of the first half into the start of the second. The Wildcats pushed the lead up to 20, but then the Knights punched back.

The best thing about this team:

Arizona is up 16 at the half and it looks pissed off that it's that close
— Juan Serrano (@Serrano_Sports) March 12, 2026

The Wildcats went four minutes without hitting a field goal, and this allowed the Knights back in it with a 9-1 run and cut the lead to 12 with 11:49 remaining. Just when it looked like the Wildcats were going to run away with the game, the Knights hung in there.

With a little over seven minutes remaining in the game, Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins switched to a zone defense as a last gasp to cut the lead down to single digits. This zone bothered the Wildcats, as Tommy Lloyd called a timeout just one minute after the Knights switched to the zone.

Between free throws, jumpers and layups, it seems Arizona has missed 29 straight shots.
— Josh Howell (@JoshTHowell) March 12, 2026

Once the Knights almost cut it to single digits, Burries took over and went on a personal 6-0 run. A big-time player showed up in a big-time moment and secured the win for his team. Burries finished the game with 21 points.

While it was not a pretty second half by any means for the Wildcats, they always held the lead in double digits. The zone defense definitely helped the Knights, but it was ultimately not enough to take down the Wildcats.