Inside The Wildcats

Houston beats Arizona, takes 2-game lead in Big 12: Game recap, analysis

The Wildcats missed a big opportunity on Saturday
Ben Sherman|
Houston Cougars forward Joseph Tugler (11) and guard Milos Uzan (7) double team Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) during the first half at McKale Center.
Houston Cougars forward Joseph Tugler (11) and guard Milos Uzan (7) double team Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) during the first half at McKale Center. | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

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There is still a lot of basketball left to play, but the Arizona Wildcats Big 12 title hopes evaporated on Saturday after a 62-58 loss to the Houston Cougars. The Wildcats are now two games behind the Cougars with six games to play.

The top two teams in the Big 12 were playing for first place in the conference — and potentially a top seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Arizona is currently projected as a No. 3 seed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

Houston (21-4, 13-1) came into the game leading the nation in scoring defense (57.3 ppg), and that proved to be the difference. The Cougars held Arizona (17-8, 11-3) to just 28 second-half points — and just 10 points in the final 9 minutes.

After taking a 48-41 lead with 9:10 left in the game, Houston outscored Arizona 21-10 the rest of the way. Milos Uzan and L.J. Cryer led the way, hitting big shot after big shot for the Cougars. Uzan finished with a game-high 19 points and Cryer added 15.

Caleb Love led Arizona with 17 points, but didn't score in the final 9:30 of the game and went 1-of-8 from the 3-point line.

Read our full game recap below, with big-play highlights and analysis.

Second half recap

Houston 62, Arizona 58, final: The Cougars closed out the Wildcats with suffocating defense down the stretch. Houston now has a two-game lead in the Big 12 with six games to play. And they will not play each other again in the regular season. Houston made some great adjustments at halftime, and Milos Uzan was ultimately the difference in the game. He attacked Jaden Bradley and scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half.

Houston 57, Arizona 56, 1:37 left: Arizona freshman Carter Bryant hits a huge 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.

Houston 55, Arizona 50, 3:32 left: Houston's defense has taken over this game, but the Cougars are in foul trouble. Arizona is in the bonus and will be shooting free throws the rest of the game. The Wildcats are struggling to get good looks, though.

Houston 50, Arizona 48, 5:57 left: Here comes Houston. L.J. Cryer hits a 3-pointer to give the Cougars their first lead of the second half. Arizona guard Caleb Love is now 1-of-8 from the 3-point line.

Arizona 48, Houston 45, 7:27 left: Milos Uzan is asserting himself for Houston and now has 15 points and 4 assists. Caleb Love leads Arizona with 17 points and 7 assists and KJ Lewis has 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Arizona 44, Houston 41, 9:51 left: Every possession is resulting in collisions at the rim and there are bodies all over the floor. This is as physical as it gets. Tobe Awaka has 3 fouls for Arizona and JoJo Tugler has 3 for Houston. Caleb Love leads all scorers with 15 points.

Emmanuel Sharp injured: Houston guard Emmanuel Sharp collided with Jaden Bradley and stayed on the floor, holding his head. The play resulted in a run-out for Arizona and an alley-oop dunk by Henri Veesaar. Arizona leads 40-36 with 12:43 left.

Officials making an impact: After calling 7 fouls the entire first half, the officials have already whistled 7 fouls in the first 7 minutes of the second half.

Arizona struggling from downtown: One game after shooting 2-of-22 from the 3-point line in a loss to Kansas State, the Wildcats are struggling to find their touch again. Arizona is 4-of-16 against Houston and most have been wide-open looks.

Arizona 34, Houston 34, 15:03 left: The Cougars are pounding the paint to start the second half, but JoJo Tugler just picked up his third foul. Tugler has 8 points and 3 rebounds for Houston.

Arizona 34, Houston 32, 16:33 left: The Cougars are clearly going to play through their bigs in the second half. JoJo Tugler scores six quick points and J'Wan Roberts adds a free throw to cut into Arizona's lead.

Halftime stats: Arizona 30, Houston 25

Arizona guard Caleb Love leads all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Love is only 1-of-5 from the 3-point line, but has scored in transition and in the paint against Houston's smaller guards. Arizona is dominating the boards 23-15, but Henri Veesaar, Tobe Awaka and Carter Bryant have all missed point-blank offensive rebound putbacks because of Houston's length.

Milos Uzan leads Houston with 6 points, while J'Wan Roberts and L.J. Cryer have 5 points apiece. Houston is 10-of-28 from the field and 2-of-9 from downtown.

First half recap

Arizona 30, Houston 25, halftime: This game is playing out about as expected: a tough, physical defensive battle. And the officials are letting them play. Only seven fouls were called in the first half.

Awful 3-point shooting: Arizona and Houston are a combined 5-of-22 from the 3-point line. Houston guard Emmanuel Sharp is 0-of-5 and Caleb Love is 1-of-5.

Arizona 24, Houston 17, 3:25 left: The matchup to watch is KJ Lewis and Caleb Love vs. Houston's smaller guards. Both Lewis and Love are getting into the paint and shooting over 6-foot-1 L.J. Cryer and 6-foot-3 Emmanuel Sharp. Love and Lewis have combined for 12 points and 6 rebounds, and all of their points have been from 12 feet or closer.

Trey Townsend for 3! After missing two games with a concussion, Arizona forward Trey Townsend is back and having a big impact.

Arizona 17, Houston 10, 8:07 left: Arizona's guards are bothering Houston with their length and athleticism. KJ Lewis has 4 points, 3 rebounds and a steal.

Both teams ice cold: Arizona is 7-of-21 from the field and Houston is 4-of-16.

Arizona 9, Houston 8, 10:59 left: Caleb Love has missed three great looks from downtown and is 1-of-5 to start the game. It will be tough for Arizona to win this game if he goes ice cold again.

Veesaar dunk! Henri Veesaar is already making an impact for Arizona with his length. He has altered several shots and threw down a dunk off a pick-and-roll.

Arizona 7, Houston 6, 14:46 left: As expected, both teams are flying around on the defensive end. This is going to be a physical battle between two long, athletic teams. Anthony Dell'Orso has 5 early points for the Wildcats.

Pregame updates

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee released its top 16 seeds on Saturday, and both Arizona and Houston made the cut. Houston is currently No. 8 and Arizona is No. 12. That theoretically translates to a No. 2 seed for the Cougars and a No. 3 seed for the Wildcats.

More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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