No. 4 Arizona takes down No. 2 Houston, takes first in Big 12 despite being shorthanded

No. 4 Arizona earned solo possession of first in the Big 12 standings on Saturday with a gritty 73-66 road win over No. 2 Houston. The shorthanded Wildcats used a 12-0 run in the second half to pull away and hand the Cougars their first home loss since Feb. 1 of last year.

Arizona failed to reach 75 points for the first time since Dec. 20, but its defense carried the day, as Houston missed 10 straight field goal attempts late in the second half.

Fresh off a season-high 22-point outing in a win over BYU, Anthony Dell’Orso turned in another massive game with 22 again for the Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Big 12). Jaden Bradley and Ivan Kharchenkov added 17 and 16, respectively. 

With star freshman forward Koa Peat missing his second straight game due to a lower leg injury and reserve wing Dwayne Aristode out for a third straight game, Arizona deployed a rotation of basically just six players in the second half.

Houston (23-4, 11-3) has dropped consecutive games for the first time since January 2024. Freshman guard Kingston Flemings led the Cougars with 17 points, but they never found an offensive rhythm and weren’t as defensively disruptive as normal.

After forcing a season-low three turnovers in a Monday loss at Iowa State, Houston forced just five against Arizona. Offensively, Houston’s 35.7% shooting mark was its second-worst of the season.

Big 12 title race heating up

The stretch run will likely be tense, but Arizona is now well-positioned to win the Big 12 regular season during just its second season in the league. A year ago, Houston ran away with the conference title by a whopping four-game edge while the Wildcats finished third for third along with BYU. 

Among the Wildcats’ final four regular season games are clashes with top-10 foes Kansas and Iowa State. But both those games are at home. The Iowa State game could prove particularly consequential as the Cyclones remain firmly in the league title hunt as well.

Despite its recent two-game slide, Houston shouldn’t be counted out, either. The Cougars face a challenging road game at Kansas on Monday, but their final three games are against manageable foes Colorado, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

This is shaping up as the most intriguing conference title race in the high-major ranks.

Bracketology implications

Both teams learned where they stand in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee prior to the game. The Wildcats landed as the third No. 1 seed in the March Madness bracket preview while Houston landed as the second No. 2 seed. While it’s possible Arizona could move up to become the second No. 1 seed depending on the results of Saturday night’s clash between No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Duke, the CBS Sports Bracketology model will make a definitive forecast Sunday morning once Saturday’s full results — and the changes in metrics they bring — have been factored in.

Houston is expected to remain a No. 2 seed. But with Florida making a hard charge after being named the top No. 3 seed in the bracket preview, the Cougars would be wise to beat Kansas on Monday to avoid a potential flirtation with the No. 3 seed line.