Not many teams want to run with Arizona, and so far in Big 12 play the game plan against the Wildcats was to slow them down as much as possible. UCF had other ideas, pushing the pace unlike anything the UA had seen in its first three Big 12 games.

That led to some surprisingly shaky moments for Arizona, particularly late in the first half, but once it got up to speed it was off to the races.

The Wildcats led for all but 1:50, never trailing in an 88-80 win over UCF on Saturday night at McKale Center. It was the sixth win in a row for Arizona (10-5, 4-0) and keeps it tied with ranked schools Houston and Iowa State for first place in the Big 12.

The UA figures to be back in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday after falling out six weeks ago.

Caleb Love led five Wildcats in double figures with 16 points, adding seven rebounds and six assists, Anthony Dell’Orso had 15 (13 in the second half), Henri Veesaar 14, Tobe Awaka 11 and KJ Lewis 10. Arizona shot 46.7 percent, made nine 3s and was 23 of 29 from the line.

But it struggled on the boards, getting outrebounded by one and giving up 20 offensive rebounds, most in nearly a year. UCF got 23 points off those extra chances and 18 off Arizona’s 14 turnovers, but only shot 38.5 percent and were 8 of 35 from 3 including 2 of 17 in the second half.

Keyshawn Hall led all scorers with 22, while Darius Johnson added 18 for the Knights (11-4, 2-2)

Arizona led 45-42 at halftime but UCF tied it 15 seconds after the break. The Wildcats went back on top almost immediately, though, and after some back and forth finally got separation thanks to an 8-0 run that included a lob to Veesaar, a putback dunk by Veesaar, a long 2 from Carter Bryant and a second-chance jumper from Jaden Bradley to make it 63-52 with 12:42 left.

A 3-point play by Awaka made it a 12-point game, then Dell’Orso provided eight straight for the Wildcats with five at the line to up the lead to 82-65 with 6:49 remaining.

The UA outscored UCF 27-13 over a 9-minute stretch, eerily similar to the 23-9 run the Knights had in the first half to tie it.

The Knights tried to press to get back into it, forcing a couple turnovers and converting on the other end, but didn’t get the deficit within single digits until 1:17 to go. Arizona didn’t make a field goal over the final 5:56 but made enough free throws to keep UCF from having a chance to come back.

Arizona made seven of its first 11 shots, the last a 3 by Love to build an early 7-point lead, getting the margin to 10 with 11:36 left in the first half after back-to-back scores from Lewis including a dunk off a steal.

Awaka was the aggressor early, scoring eight points in the first 10:21 after managing just four in the two previous games.

UCF missed 11 shots in a row at one point and trailed by 14 with 9:39 remaining in the half before getting hot. The Knights made six of eight to get within two, then tied it at 42 in the final minute on a jumper by Moustapha Thiam. Arizona retook the lead on the other end when Trey Townsend scored inside and was fouled, completing the 3-point play.

The UA remains home to host Baylor on Tuesday night, a game that will tip off at 9 p.m. MT. The Bears (11-4, 3-1) won 72-66 in overtime at ASU on Saturday night.