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Tucson, Ariz. • The signs were there for a letdown.
Arizona was coming off arguably its biggest win of the season. The Wildcats were playing without 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski, and in the midst of finals for their coursework.
It wasn't always pretty, but they shook off the distractions and pulled away for another victory.
Aaron Gordon scored 21 points, Nick Johnson added 17 and Arizona opened its second week at No. 1 with a 69-43 rout over Southern on Thursday night.
"I'm happy for the win from the perspective of this was a hard week for our team," Arizona coach Sean Miller said.
Coming off a comeback road win over Michigan on Saturday, Arizona (12-0) raced out to a 15-point first-half lead despite having to shift players to new positions with Tarczewski out. The second half wasn't quite as smooth and the Wildcats went 22 of 37 on free throws, but turned it over just eight times and played well at the defensive end to start 12-0 in non-conference action for the second straight season..
No. 8 Duke 80, UCLA 63 • At New York, Jabari Parker had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Duke used a patient offensive attack to beat UCLA at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Devils (9-2) poked and prodded UCLA's 2-3 zone from the perimeter, making 11 3-pointers in a season-high 32 attempts from beyond the arc. Parker went 4 for 8 from long range while going over 20 points for the ninth time in his 11 college games.
Rodney Hood and Quinn Cook both had 14 points for the Blue Devils.
David Wear led the Bruins (9-2) with 16 points and Kyle Anderson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He entered the game averaging 13.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists.