No. 4 Arizona Upsets No. 2 Houston, Takes Big 12 Lead in Ncaa Basketball

Arizona beat No. 2 Houston 73-66 at the Fertitta Center, moving the Wildcats into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with four games remaining. The result matters for ncaa basketball standings and postseason positioning because it hands Arizona the tiebreaker over Houston and halts the Cougars’ home dominance in conference play.

Tommy Lloyd and Arizona Topple Houston at the Fertitta Center

It took four years and three tries, but Tommy Lloyd and Arizona finally beat Houston, a program that had been the last Big 12 school the coach had not beaten. The Wildcats’ 73-66 victory was only the second Big 12 home loss for the Cougars at the Fertitta Center since Houston joined the conference in 2023-24.

Ncaa Basketball: Arizona Moves Into Sole Possession of First Place

Arizona improved to 25-2 overall and 12-2 in conference play, while Houston fell to 23-4 and 11-3. With four regular-season games left, Arizona now stands alone atop the Big 12 and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker because this was the teams’ only regular-season meeting.

Anthony Dell’Orso’s 22 Points and Four Steals Fuel the Wildcats

Anthony Dell’Orso produced his second straight 22-point game off the bench and added a career-high four steals while logging 34 minutes. Jaden Bradley contributed 17 points and made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1: 10, and Ivan Kharchenkov added 16. Kingston Flemings led Houston with 17 points but was 6 of 17 from the field; Emanuel Sharp had 14 on 2-of-11 shooting.

Houston’s 35. 7 Percent Shooting and 12 Turnovers Cost Them 16 Points

Arizona’s defense held Houston to 35. 7 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers—above the Cougars’ Division I-low season average of 8. 2 per game—which produced 16 points for the Wildcats. Houston missed 11 straight shots in the second half and went 4 of 19 after taking its final lead at 48-46 with 12: 57 remaining, allowing Arizona to build separation.

Key Runs, Fouls and Lineup Adjustments: Bradley, Burries, Awaka and Krivas

A 12-0 Arizona run midway through the second half, sparked when Houston went scoreless for almost eight minutes, gave the Wildcats the lead for good. A Kharchenkov layup tied the game after a timeout, and three ties followed over the next three minutes before Dell’Orso hit a 3 off a set play behind a staggered double screen to make it 51-50 with 11: 34 left. That sequence began a six-minute stretch that produced the 12-0 run and a 60-50 lead with 5: 30 to play after a Bradley jumper.

Brayden Burries scored four during that stretch, including a putback in traffic; he had seven points on 1-of-5 shooting, needed an IV after Wednesday’s win over BYU, and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute. Arizona was 20 of 31 from the free-throw line overall, after missing five consecutive attempts late in the first half but going 10 of 12 down the stretch.

Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas each picked up third fouls during a scoring drought; both would foul out late and combine for just 11 points while collecting 11 rebounds and three of Arizona’s nine steals. Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson combined for 17 minutes, at one point subbing for one another in an offense/defense swap after those fouls.

Standings Consequences and What’s Next for Houston and Arizona

The Wildcats’ win hands them the tiebreaker over Houston because this was the teams’ only regular-season meeting. Houston will visit No. 9 Kansas on Monday while trying to avoid a three-game losing streak. What makes this notable is that Arizona had now beaten every Big 12 team under Lloyd, and the victory removes the last unbeaten conference opponent from that list while reshaping the race with only four games to play.

The original game narrative in the available material cuts off mid-sentence about how Houston finally ended its drought; that detail is unclear in the provided context. This was a men’s contest and all statistics and lineups referenced reflect that classification.