ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF students poured into the Addition Financial Arena about an hour before tipoff, bringing with them an undeniable energy that comes with the anticipation of what they were about to witness.

The student section filled up quickly, prompting the public address announcer to ask the students to pack in tighter to accommodate as many bodies as possible. Even then, it was a standing-room-only crowd on hand on Saturday.

UCF was hosting a No. 1 team for just the second time in school history, as top-ranked Arizona was in town for a crucial Big 12 matchup. The Knights were off to a solid start, but the program was seeking its first win over a No. 1 team in program history.

A day earlier, UCF coach Johnny Dawkins had called on fans to fill the venue, calling the home crowd the sixth man. It turns out, the fans didn’t disappoint.

But despite a career-high 30 points by guard Themus Fulks, UCF wasn’t able to pull off the upset, falling to Arizona, 84-77.

UCF (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) remains winless (0-5) against top-ranked teams.

Arizona (18-0, 5-0 Big 12) had five players in double digits, led by Jayden Bradley with 23 points, Brayden Burries with 18, Motejus Krivas with 17 and Ivan Kharchenkov and Tobe Awaka with 10 apiece.

Fulks also had eight assists while Jordan Burks had 16 points and Riley Kuegel had 12.

The crowd erupted when Fulks’ floater in the paint started off the scoring for the Knights. A few minutes later, fans were on their feet when center John Bol hammered down a dunk for an early UCF lead.

Arizona worked to get the ball inside, using its size to thwart a smaller Knights’ lineup, scoring eight of its first 11 points in the paint. The Wildcats went on a 19-2 run, building an early 26-11 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half.

UCF struggled from the field, connecting on just one of 13 shots during AU’s run, failing to score in close to four minutes.

The Knights snapped their scoreless stretch when Burks stole the ball and drove halfcourt before his shot was knocked off the rim and was called goaltending. It was the first point in more than five minutes.

Burks followed it up with a 2-point bucket before knocking down a 3-pointer that got the fans briefly excited. Fulks added a 2-point shot that pulled UCF within single digits of Arizona’s lead for the first time in more than six minutes.

Fulks would score 14 of his 16 first-half points in the final six minutes of the first half, helping the Knights pull within 40-38 with 24 seconds left.

The Wildcats were without forward Koa Peat, who picked up two quick fouls and spent most of the first half on the bench. Peat, who finished with a season-low four points, is projected to be a top-10 prospect in the upcoming NBA draft.

Arizona opened the second half by going on a 6-2 run before Dawkins called a quick timeout.

It was Fulks who kept the Knights in the game, connecting on a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 47-43, and it was his assist to Kugel for a layup that helped UCF pull to within 49-45.

Fulks would tie his career high on a layup and a foul with 13:58 left in the game, pulling the Knights within two points.

But, as it had throughout the game, Arizona went on a 14-3 run, stretching its advantage to 65-52, its largest lead of the second half.

Fulks set a new career high with a layup with 2:04 left.

Arizona shot 53% from the field, while UCF was just under 40%.

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