ORLANDO — Despite a standout performance from fifth-year point guard Themus Fulks, UCF was unable to pull off a historic upset against a nationally ranked No. 1 team. Fulks put up 30 points and eight assists, but five Arizona players finished in double figures as the Wildcats secured an 84-77 victory on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Addition Financial Arena. UCF (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) fell to 0-5 all-time against top-ranked teams.

“The most frustrating thing is that we didn’t win,” said Knights coach Johnny Dawkins. “The most encouraging is that I thought our guys fought their hearts out for 40 minutes against a great basketball team. I’ve seen a lot of teams this year, and I was really impressed with how they play. It’s kind of an old-school style of basketball. They don’t shoot a lot of 3s, but they know who they are and they play to their strengths.”

Arizona (18-0, 5-0) continues its best start to a season since it won 21 consecutive games to open the 2013-14 campaign. The Wildcats previously knocked off five ranked opponents, most recently Alabama on Dec. 20 on a neutral floor in Birmingham.

The task does not get much easier for UCF, which will face Iowa State on Jan. 20. Iowa State has lost back-to-back road games — against Kansas and Cincinnati — since rising to the No. 2 spot in both the AP and USA TODAY Sports Coaches polls.

Here are three takeaways from UCF’s missed opportunity in front of an announced crowd of 10,000, the second-largest, single-game attendance in school history.

Arizona’s bigs anchor 17-2 run during 1st half

Out of the under-16 media timeout, with the score tied 9-9, Arizona created separation thanks in large part to its big men. Tobe Awaka (6-foot-8, 255 pounds) and Motiejus Krivas (7-2, 260) combined for 15 points during a 17-2 run over 5½ minutes. UCF missed 10 consecutive field goal attempts and surrendered four offensive rebounds during that stretch.

“We have big guys, and we’re not afraid to play to that,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.

Arizona, which leads the conference in scoring and field goal percentage, produced 36 points in the paint, 21 off fast breaks and 23 at the free throw line. The Wildcats ranked second in the country entering the day in rebounding margin (plus-14.3), though UCF kept within 37-36 on the glass.

Jordan Burks, Themus Fulks spark UCF comeback before halftime

Shots started falling for the Knights in the 8½ minutes before halftime — lots of them. UCF produced a 10-for-11 streak, ignited by seven straight points for Jordan Burks. Fulks took over from there, sinking tough jumpers over outstretched Arizona arms and a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to send the Knights into the break down 40-38.

Fulks said Arizona tried to throw just about every sort of defensive look it had at him. “They tried to blitz the ball screens, they tried to go under the ball screens. They tried to do everything to slow me down,” Fulks said. “I just tried to take advantage of my opportunity, and when my teammates were open, I tried to get them the ball as much as I can.”

On Fulks’ scoring splurge, Burks said, “Give him a battery pack. We needed it.”

UCF could not carry momentum over, missing six of its first seven attempts and falling back into a double-digit deficit by the midway point of the second half.

Arizona holds UCF’s bench contributors in check

A strength throughout the season, UCF’s bench had one of its quieter outings Saturday. Four reserves — Jeremy Foumena, Chris Johnson, Devan Cambridge and Carmelo Pacheco — combined for a 3-for-14 shooting performance, producing just 11 points. Cambridge, who scored in double figures at Kansas State and guarded tenaciously, had a team-worst minus-14 rating on the day.

As for the remaining starters, Riley Kugel had 12 points but made just 5 of 18 field goals. Jamichael Stillwell had six points, six rebounds and four turnovers. John Bol got into foul trouble early in the second half and had just two points with five boards.

“We have to be more precise in what we do,” Dawkins said. “We have to take care of the basketball better. We have to have better shot selection in searching out the shots we want to have. And we have to keep battling defensively and rebounding the basketball.”