Arizona Still Perfect After Victory Over Florida International

Arizona can hurt opponents with finesse or force. The sixth-ranked Wildcats used both to win their 14th championship in the 14-year-old Fiesta Bowl Classic.

Jason Terry had 21 points and seven assists and A.J. Bramlett had 18 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday night as the Wildcats defeated Florida International, 91-75, at Tucson.

Bramlett reached double figures in points and rebounds for the sixth time this season and 16th time in his career, and freshmen Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright scored 17 points each for the Wildcats, whose 8-0 start matches their best since 1987-88.

“They were a very gritty team,” said Jefferson, who had all five of his rebounds on the offensive end. “They were one of the toughest that we have seen in a while. They have to play that to stay in the game, though. We can play that way too.”

Arizona, which opens Pacific 10 Conference play against UCLA on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion, stayed perfect at 28-0 in the tournament, but the victory wasn’t as easy as a 89-41 rout of Holy Cross on Monday night.

Raja Bell scored 22 points for Florida International (6-8), but fouled out with 5:56 to play. He picked up his fourth foul with 9:24 left when he bumped the airborne Traves Wilson, and Wilson landed hard on his back.

Bell’s final foul was a technical for pushing Terry, who made one free throw and then a layup on the same possession, pushing the score to 76-60 with 5:45 left.

No. 1 Connecticut 100, Villanova 76--Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and Kevin Freeman had a career-high 24 to lead the Huskies, 10-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big East, over the Wildcats (10-3, 1-2) at Hartford, Conn.

Hamilton made five of seven three-point shots and reached the 1,500-point mark in his career.

Connecticut played without No. 2 rebounder Edmund Saunders, suspended one game for fighting, and reserve swingman Rashamel Jones, who has a sore leg.

They were hardly missed. Freeman led all players with 11 rebounds and reserve center-forward Antric Klaiber pulled down eight.

Point guard Khalid El-Amin had a career-high nine assists.

No. 2 Duke 104, North Carolina Greensboro 58--Corey Maggette had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Blue Devils (12-1) topped 100 points for the fifth time this season in overwhelming the Spartans (1-9) at Durham, N.C.

Elton Brand and William Avery added 18 points each and Trajan Langdon scored 11 for the Blue Devils, who play at No. 4 Maryland on Sunday. Brand also had 12 rebounds and matched a career high with four steals.

Nathan Jameson and James Maye scored 13 points each for the Spartans, who have lost seven in a row.

The Spartans trailed at halftime, 51-25, and got as close as 24 points before Duke mounted a 16-0 run.

No. 3 Cincinnati 81, North Carolina Wilmington 52--Melvin Levett scored 23 points as the Bearcats (12-0) matched the third-best start in school history by routing the Seahawks (2-8) at Cincinnati.

The Bearcats have opened 12-0 for the fifth time in their history. Only two other teams have extended the streak past 12--the 1959-60 team went 13-0 and the 1962-63 team opened 19-0. Both teams made the Final Four.

The win was No. 400 for Coach Bob Huggins, who is 400-148 in 18 seasons at Walsh, Akron and Cincinnati.

No. 13 Michigan State 64, North Carolina Asheville 39--Jason Klein scored 12 points as the Spartans (10-3) used a balanced attack to rout the Bulldogs (1-10) at East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan 59, No. 19 Wisconsin 55--Robbie Reid scored 25 points and Louis Bullock scored 24 as the Wolverines (7-7) rallied to surprise the Badgers (12-2) in a Big Ten opener at Ann Arbor, Mich., ending Wisconsin’s 10-game winning streak.

No. 20 Arkansas 100, North Texas 77--Pat Bradley made 10 three-point baskets and scored 32 points to lead the Razorbacks (10-2) over the Mean Green (0-10) at Fayetteville, Ark.

Providence 83, No. 23 Pittsburgh 68--Jamel Thomas scored 25 points to help the Friars (8-4, 1-2) upset the Panthers (8-5, 0-3) in a Big East game at Pittsburgh.

No. 24 Texas Christian 90, Gonzaga 87--Lee Nailon had 44 points and 14 rebounds and Marquise Gainous made a free throw with 59 seconds to play and a layup with 16 seconds left to lift the Horned Frogs (11-2) over the Bulldogs (9-4) at Fort Worth, Texas.

No. 25 Oklahoma State 75, Southeast Missouri 64--Adrian Peterson scored 10 of his 20 points in the final eight minutes to help the Cowboys (8-3) hold off the Indians (6-5) at Stillwater, Okla.

OTHER GAMES

Jason Heide scored 18 points to lead Oregon State (6-3) to a 71-39 rout of Notre Dame College of California (7-4) at Corvallis, Ore. . . . Ryan Williams scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead San Diego (8-3) to a 71-54 victory over Division III Occidental (4-4) at San Diego. . . . Deon Luton scored seven of his 21 points down the stretch to help Washington (7-3) to an 81-72 victory over Portland (6-5) at Seattle. . . . Phil Cullen, Jeremy Killion and Hanno Mottola each scored 13 points to lead Utah (9-4) to a 73-42 rout of Division I newcomer High Point (3-6) at Salt Lake City. . . . Gerald Zimmerman scored 24 points for San Francisco (8-7) in a 66-52 win over Santa Clara (4-8) in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic at San Jose.