Wildcats outmuscle Bears

Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona forward Michael Dickerson and Baylor center Brian Skinner (glasses) battle for a loose ball in last night's 83-68 Wildcat victory. Dickerson had nine points as the Wildcats outrebounded the Bears 46-32.

"I think the last two games we did a lot better," said center A.J. Bramlett of his team's two-game sweep against Texas teams. The Wildcats beat Texas 88-81 Saturday in Austin.

"We know everybody plays their best against us, but if we jump out early like we did it's hard for the other team to get going."

It was the third road game in seven days for the Wildcats, who began the trip with a 90-87 loss to No. 3 Kansas in the Great Eight at Chicago.

Miles Simon had 20 points for the Wildcats (6-2), while Bennett Davison had his best game this season with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

Davison lost his starting job for not being aggressive earlier this season, but that was not the case last night as the senior forward was consistently around the ball.

Mike Bibby added 18 points and Jason Terry had 14 for Arizona.

Patrick Hunter led Baylor (3-3) with 19 points as the Wildcats shut down center Brian Skinner, who led the Bears in scoring in four of their first five games.

The senior entered the game averaging 19.0 points and 12.8 rebounds, but was held to 10 points and seven rebounds.

"The outside shots were falling, but we needed to find a way to get Brian involved in the game and we didn't do that," Hunter said. "We just needed to play with intensity for 40 minutes. That's what those guys do."

The Wildcats finished with a 46-32 rebound advantage, 17-10 on the offensive end.

Skinner, who attempted only one shot in the second half, didn't score his first points until there was 7:28 left in the first half.

Skinner, who is a projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft, had three blocked shots, but none after the first half.

"If (three blocks) was all he had, he must have made us miss 12 or 15 shots," said Arizona coach Lute Olson of Skinner. "The job A.J. Bramlett did on Skinner was certainly key. I'm pleased with the way we came out ready and alert right from the start."

Arizona went on a 17-5 run, including eight points from Simon, to take a 25-13 lead with 9:12 left in the first half. The closest Baylor got in the first half was 28-22 with 5:58 left.

Arizona took a 43-28 halftime lead with Simon and Bibby combining for 21 points, mostly from the outside.

Simon finished 7 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 6 from three-point range, while Bibby was 6 of 10, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Arizona led by as many as 23 points despite Baylor shooting 53 percent from the field and making six three-pointers in the second half.