What We Learned from Arizona After Its Win Over Houston

For the third time in Tommy Lloyd's head coaching career and the first time in the Big 12, he and the Arizona Wildcats are conference tournament champions, toppling the Houston Cougars by a score of 79-74.

The Wildcats ended the first half with a 44-36 lead behind Jaden Bradley's 13 points and Brayden Burries' 12. The Cougars attempted to storm back and got to within three points late in the game, but Arizona held on to secure the Big 12 Tournament trophy.

Now that the Wildcats are both regular-season and tournament champions, there is just one more trophy left to attain, which will be the hardest one to get. A lot can be said about Arizona's statement run and win over the Cougars, but we narrowed it down to just three implications of its accomplishment.

Huge momentum carried over

The Wildcats, much like the regular season, went through a gauntlet of formidable opponents on the way to securing the first Big 12 Tournament championship in the program's history. Going into the NCAA tournament as a lock for the No.1 seed means that Arizona will have a huge target on its back, but it carries a tremendous amount of momentum after beating two top 10 teams twice.

C H A M P S 🏆 pic.twitter.com/J0IsRkcxTp
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 15, 2026

Whover gets matched up with the Wildcats in their bracket will have to gameplan heavily for a team that is a nightmare to stop on offense and is sound on the defensive side of the floor.

Arizona is built to last

It has been clear to see that the Wildcats have passed just about every test that was given to them, both throughout the regular season and the Big 12 Tournament.

Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) drives to the hoop past Houston Cougars forward Chase McCarty (24) and guard Kingston Flemings (4) during the first half during the men's Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Including the tournament, Arizona has logged an 11-2 record against ranked schools, with four of those wins going above 10 points. In two of those games against ranked teams (BYU and Houston), it was without one of its top freshmen, Koa Peat.

Although the Big 12 is regarded as one of the toughest conferences to play in, the Wildcats will now have to face the best schools the NCAA has to offer. Given their track record against teams such as UConn, Florida, UCLA, Auburn, and Alabama, they are a team built to make a deep run in the upcoming tournament.

Arizona's guards lead the way

The Wildcats have made an electric run through the Big 12 Tournament with a combination of tough defense and a physical style of offense that teams have found hard to stop.

Mar 13, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) drives to the basket around Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) during the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

What has made the offense and defense especially tenacious is the play of Arizona's guards, who have led the way for the Wildcats all season long. Against UCF and Houston, Burries led the team in points scored.

Against Iowa State, Anthony Dell'Orso led the way with 26 points scored. Tied at 80 apiece, Bradley stepped up and made the game-winning shot to send Arizona to the finals. Bradley has been the team's anchor for all three games, utilizing a healthy mix of both aggressive offense and defense while calling plays on the court to set the Wildcats up for success.

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