Ncaa Basketball: ncaa basketball — No. 4 Arizona beats No. 2 Houston, stands alone atop Big 12
ncaa basketball saw a signature result Saturday afternoon as No. 4 Arizona beat No. 2 Houston 73-66 on the road at the Fertitta Center. The win moved Arizona to 25-2, 12-2 and into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with four games to go.
Ncaa Basketball: Big 12 lead
Tommy Lloyd has beaten every team in the Big 12. It took four years and three tries, but Lloyd and Arizona finally got their revenge on Houston, a program Arizona had lost to in the previous three meetings, including in the 2022 Sweet 16 and last year’s Big 12 Tournament final. The victory also gives Arizona the tiebreaker over Houston, since this was their only regular season meeting.
How the lead formed
Arizona led 36-31 at halftime, only the second time Houston has trailed at the half of a Big 12 game since joining the league in 2023-24. A 12-0 run midway through the second half — during which Houston went scoreless for almost eight minutes — gave Arizona the lead for good. That run took six minutes off the clock and produced a 60-50 advantage with 5: 30 to go after a Jaden Bradley jumper.
Key contributors and minutes
Anthony Dell’Orso had his second straight big game, scoring 22 off the bench and playing 34 minutes; he also recorded a career-high four steals. Jaden Bradley had 17 points and made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1: 10. Ivan Kharchenkov added 16 points and his layup tied the game after a timeout during a three-minute stretch of ties before Dell’Orso’s 3 put Arizona up 51-50 with 11: 34 remaining. Freshman Kingston Flemings scored 17 but was 6 of 17 from the field, and Emanuel Sharp had 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Fouls, substitutions and free throws
Koa Peat missed his second straight game with a muscle strain in his lower leg area, and Dwayne Aristode sat out a third game with an illness. Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson combined for 17 minutes, even subbing for one another late after Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas both picked up their third fouls; Awaka and Krivas both fouled out late. Awaka and Krivas combined for just 11 points, but they had 11 rebounds and three of the University of Arizona’s nine steals. Arizona was 20 of 31 from the free-throw line overall, missing five in a row at one point late in the first half, but the Wildcats were 10 of 12 from the line down the stretch.
Defense, turnovers and streaks
Arizona’s defense proved decisive. Houston shot 35. 7 percent and missed 11 straight shots in the second half, going 4 of 19 after taking its final lead at 48-46 with 12: 57 to go. The Cougars turned the ball over 12 times — they averaged a Division I-low 8. 2 turnovers per game — and those turnovers resulted in 16 points for Arizona. Brayden Burries scored four points during the late run, including a putback in traffic; Burries had seven points on 1-of-5 shooting, had needed an IV after Wednesday’s win over BYU, and made 3 of 4 free throws in the last minute.
Aftermath and remaining schedule
The win was only the second time Houston had lost at the Fertitta Center in Big 12 play since joining the conference in 2023-24. Houston falls to 23-4, 11-3; UH visits No. 9 Kansas on Monday trying to avoid a 3-game losing streak. A second, separate context entry titled "Men" appears in the provided material and contains no additional text. The original context ends mid-sentence with "Houston finally ended its droug" — unclear in the provided context.
ncaa basketball coverage will follow the remaining four games for Arizona as the Wildcats hold sole possession of the Big 12 lead with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston.
