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“No. 1! No. 1!� they said.

Maybe it will happen Monday, the first time Arizona men's basketball could assume the top spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in two years. After throttling No. 20 Auburn 97-68 on Saturday, and after No. 1 Purdue lost at home to Iowa State, the Wildcats made their argument.

Arizona (8-0) now has four wins over teams ranked at the time of the game, including a neutral site win over the defending national champions (Florida) and one in front of a rowdy, cheap-beer-night crowd at then-third-ranked UConn.

And now this: A 29-point win over a team that reached last season’s Final Four and, despite near-wholesale roster change, one ranked No. 20 entering Saturday’s game.

But Michigan, also 8-0, did basically the same thing to Auburn last week on a neutral court in Las Vegas, where it similarly drilled San Diego State and Gonzaga, averaging a 33.3-point victory margin in those three games. The Wolverines also own a true road win at TCU.

In addition, third-ranked Michigan received more first-place votes (15) than second-ranked Arizona (6) in AP voting last week, and there's no telling where the 40 first-place votes that went to Purdue last week might go now.

Whatever happens, UA coach Tommy Lloyd embraced the idea of being No. 1 but said the Wildcats “have bigger things on their mind� than the rankings, including a game on Dec. 13 against No. 12 Alabama at Birmingham, Ala. 

“It's nothing you shy away from,� Lloyd said. “You're at Arizona, you know you're going to be on the big stage. It's part and parcel of being at a program like this.�

Nobody might have a better perspective on the Michigan-Arizona debate than Auburn coach Steven Pearl, whose team has beaten Oregon, St. John’s and NC State — but has been drilled by both the Wildcats and Wolverines.

“We've played the two best teams in college basketball,� Pearl said. “I think there's a pretty wide margin between Michigan and Arizona, and the rest of college basketball, just from what I've seen on film and just what, obviously, we've experienced in person.

“I think those are the two biggest teams in college basketball. I mean, they've got freshmen that look like juniors and football players out there. They've got grown-ass men out there.�

There's a pretty good chance Pearl would slide Koa Peat into that category, as the well-built Chandler freshman led the Wildcats with 18 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Also, another who fits the description: German freshman wing Ivan Kharchenkov, who worked his way through an ankle sprain all week and then showed up to collect 12 points and eight assists while helping limit Auburn’s leading scorer, Keyshawn Hall, to 13 points on 3-for-11 shooting.

After rehabbing earlier this week, Kharchenkov said he went through two full practices and credited athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie for helping him make the quick recovery. He had left the McKale floor in visible pain and frustration during UA’s Nov. 19 win over Norfolk State and did not return to the game afterward.

“It wasn't that bad, we were just a little bit day-to-day,� Kharchenkov said. “Took care of my foot, did a lot of exercise, and just got me ready for this game.�

But even with the physicality of those two, plus the usual low-post headaches created by centers Motiejus Krivas (nine rebounds) and Tobe Awaka (seven rebounds) it wasn’t just like how Arizona pounded UConn inside during its Nov. 19 win in Storrs, Conn.

This time, the Wildcats also put away Auburn with run after run fueled in part by defense. They held Auburn to just 33.3% shooting and scored 21 points on 15 Auburn turnovers.

Arizona had 12-0 and 13-0 runs in the first half, plus two 9-0 runs early in the second half to put the game in its control.

"That's a big deal for us," Lloyd said. "In order to go on runs, you've got to stack a lot of good things together in all those areas of the game. That's something we talk about a lot with our guys."

In shooting a season-high 61.2% from the field, Arizona also received plenty of help throughout its entire lineup, putting together arguably its most complete game of the season. Five players scored in double figures, and all eight rotation players had at least six.

Among them, notably: Freshman guard Brayden Burries, who had struggled in UA’s three previous games against ranked opponents, had 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting along with five rebounds and an assist in 18 minutes.

“He’s just playing more confident,� point guard Jaden Bradley said. “We had a tough schedule for any freshman coming into those big games. Even though he didn't score a lot, he made a big impact defensively. Now he's just getting the hang of the offense, and he's only going to get better from here.�

Lloyd said he’s talked with Burries about getting more comfortable with playing in a fast pace, and the freshman guard looked that way Saturday.

Burries missed his three 3-point attempts but was 8 of 9 from two-point range, including four layups and a dunk. Leading 44-32 at halftime, Arizona scored the first nine points of the second half, while Burries gave the Wildcats a 53-32 lead when he completed a three-point play 2½ minutes into the second half.

After two Auburn scores, Peat made a dunk and layup to begin a 9-0 Arizona run that gave them a 62-34 lead with 15 minutes still to go.

Arizona held leads of 23 or more points the rest of the way, while also winning a coach’s challenge to protest an out-of-bounds call, with officials agreeing with UA that the ball went out of bounds on the foot of an Auburn player.

On a night when their sell-out, red-out crowd brought McKale to its noisiest level of the year so far, the Wildcats hardly needed to win the challenge.

But they did. And just about everything else that mattered Saturday.

“I thought in stretches today we played as well as we’ve played all year,� Lloyd said Saturday. “After those initial experiences, and being away from home a little bit, we wanted to kind of recalibrate and see if we can galvanize a little bit.

“For long stretches, it looked like we've done that. But it's something you don't ever take for granted.�