Winning the first two legs of a challenging three-game stretch, No.23 Wisconsin flew to the desert playing with house money. It was clear early on that the house would win, and it won big.

Ranked No.1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2014, Arizona backed up the ranking with a 98-73 victory over No.23 Wisconsin at the McKale Center in Tucson.

Showing little signs of rust after their week off, the Wildcats (8-0) shot 56.3 percent in the first half building a 17-point lead, and exerted their will throughout the 40 minutes.

All five starters reached double figures for Arizona, getting a game-high 21 points from Pelle Larsson and 20 from North Carolina transfer Caleb Love.

Guard John Blackwell scored 17 points to lead Wisconsin (7-3), which saw its six-game winning streak end decisively after a disastrous first-half stretch on both ends of the floor.

Tied at 23 with 8:50 remaining in the first half, Arizona broke the game open with a 20-2 run in an 11-possession stretch. The Wildcats made three of their eight first-half three-pointers on the run, catching UW out of position with its ball screen defense, and used their size and athleticism to deliver crowd-pumping dunks at the rim.

The Badgers were able to counter runs made by No.3 Marquette and Michigan State in their previous two outings by being active at the rim with their size advantage. That was not the case against the bigger, more physical Wildcats.

Sixth in the country in defensive rebounding at 32 per game, Arizona limited Wisconsin to only one offensive rebound in the opening half. Losing that production caused the Badgers to shoot 38.7 percent and average .838 points per possession.

The Badgers finished with just six offensive rebounds, a far cry from the 26 they had in the previous two games, and 16 second-chance points. The Wildcats outrebounded Wisconsin, 39-30.

Wisconsin made a mini push at the start of the second half, but center Oumar Ballo erased any chance. Blocking A.J. Storr’s two-hand dunk at the rim, Ballo’s play started the Wildcats in transition, ending with Love making a corner three-pointer. Instead of a 6-0 UW run and building momentum, the lead shot back to 18.

What it means: Wisconsin tested itself against the top-ranked team in the country and got exposed in a handful of areas. Badgers fell to 4-20 all-time against the No.1 team in the AP poll, including 0-12 on the road.

Star of the game: UW held Love to 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting when the Badgers beat North Carolina in the 2021 NCAA Tournament first round. No such luck Saturday afternoon, as Love’s ability to shoot from the perimeter and attack the rim made him close to unstoppable. Love added seven rebounds and five assists.

Stat of the game: Arizona’s ball movement was effective throughout the game but especially in the first half when the Wildcats had 15 assists on their 18 made baskets. Arizona finished with 26 assists on 35 field goals.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin seemed to revert to some of the bad defensive tendencies that were prevalent at the start of the season, especially when it came to going under screens, allowing open shooters enough space to hit open shots.

Don’t overlook: How dominant was Arizona? The Wildcats won every stat category except offensive rebounds (6-4) and second-chance points (16-11), only because they missed 25 shots.

What’s next: Going 2-1 through its challenging gauntlet, the Badgers return home to take on Jacksonville State on Thursday (7 p.m./BTN). Picked to finish last in the nine-team Conference USA, the Gamecocks (4-6) are ranked 209th in the country via kenpom. They suffered a 70-57 loss at West Virginia in their only game against a major conference opponent.

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