WACO, Texas – Tobe Awaka had 14 points and 12 rebounds as No. 19 Arizona moved into second place alone in the Big 12 Conference with a 74-67 win at Baylor on Monday night.
Caleb Love and Henri Veesaar each had 13 points for the Wildcats (18-8, 12-3), whose back-to-back losses last week to Kansas State and No. 5 Houston dropped them six spots in the latest AP Top 25 poll earlier Monday.
VJ Edgecombe scored 24 points for the Bears (16-10, 8-7). Norchad Omier had his 82nd career double-double — and 14th this season — with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Jayden Nunn added 10 points.
Arizona never trailed after a big run to take a 41-33 halftime lead.
Baylor was within three points twice in the final minute, but Arizona made seven consecutive free throws in the final 49 seconds — and went 9 of 12 in the final 1:21.
Takeaways
Arizona, in its inaugural Big 12 season, completed a regular-season sweep of Baylor. The Wildcats are just behind league-leading Houston (21-4, 13-1), and a half-game ahead of No. 9 Texas Tech (20-5, 11-3).
Baylor has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games, though this was the first defeat at home during that stretch. The Bears are 12-2 at home.
Key moment
Carter Bryant traveled for turnovers on consecutive Arizona possessions before a 3-pointer and then a defensive rebound that led to a fast-break layup for teammate Anthony Dell’Orso, who had 11 points. That was part of a 12-3 run late in the first half for a 41-31 lead.
Key stat
The Wildcats are 6-3 in true road games this season, and 28-14 under fourth-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Up next
Arizona is home against BYU on Saturday, when Baylor plays at Colorado for the first time since January 2010.
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