Arizona center Motiejus Krivas, right, and Utah forward James Okonkwo battle for possession of a loose ball in the second half on Jan. 3 in Salt Lake City. (AP photo)

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona has become the bully on the block.

A program known for its free-flowing offense and efficiency, the top-ranked Wildcats have added a dose of bulk to beat teams down during their undefeated start to the season.

“You can sometimes wear people down with your speed, just getting the ball up and down the court and guys get tired, but they have a unique ability with their roster to wear teams down inside with their size,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after the Sun Devils’ 89-82 loss to Arizona on Wednesday night. “The size and physicality of their front line is different than anything we’ve seen this season.”

It’s not just the front line.

The Wildcats (17-0, 4-0 Big 12) are big everywhere and it’s helped them to the program’s best start since opening 21-0 in 2013-14 while remaining one of three Division I teams still undefeated.

Arizona has been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for five straight weeks and, with a win over UCF on Saturday, could be the unanimous choice in Monday’s poll following No. 2 Iowa State’s loss to Kansas.

The Wildcats are still wildly efficient, No. 4 in the KenPom offensive ratings while averaging 91.1 points and 19.2 assists per game.

What makes Arizona different from coach Tommy Lloyd’s four previous season is its heft. The Wildcats have 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas in the middle and are big at every position, a roster full of body bashers — even the freshmen.

“They’ve got freshmen that look like juniors and football players out there,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said after his team was blown out by Arizona last month. “They’ve got grown-ass men out there.”

Arizona’s push to get more physical began after the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Lloyd’s first season.

The Wildcats were a No. 1 seed and reached the Sweet 16, but were bounced from the bracket after getting pushed around by Houston. Lloyd wanted to add size and toughness following the loss, building subsequent rosters with more physicality in mind.

A perfect storm of power came together in this year’s team.

With a big assist from strength and conditioning coach Chris Rounds, the Wildcats have mass to go with their length, allowing them to impose their will on opposing teams.

For instance, there’s Tobe Awaka.

The 6-8, 255-pound senior is built like an NFL defensive end and moves players out of the lane like they’re tackling dummies. Awaka leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at 24.3% and is 10th in defensive rebounding percentage at 28.1%.

With Awaka leading the way, Arizona is second nationally in rebound margin at 14 more per game and has a 41% offensive rebounding percentage, good for fourth nationally.

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