No. 4 Arizona Stuns No. 2 Houston For The First Home Loss Of The Season
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The Houston Cougars stumbled to a 73-66 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon, inside the Fertitta Center.
This is the first time since the 2024 season where the Cougars have lost back-to-back games, and they now trailed behind Arizona and Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference race.
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 24-4 on the season. Houston will look to get back in the win column against the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Houston vs Arizona Game Recap
The Cougars had an uncharacteristic first half by committing seven turnovers, and Arizona was by far the better defense early on.
It also didn’t help Houston that Arizona’s senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso erupted for 14 points by halftime, and he was the clear go-to guy for the Wildcats.
With all things considered, the Cougars still found themselves down just 36-31 at halftime, largely due to Arizona shooting just 44% from the free throw line.
Houston was much more consistent on the offense end, and senior guard Milos Uzan hit a big three to give Houston its first lead of the game at 44-42.
Arizona did not back down, and Dell’Orso once again came up clutch for the Wildcats with a deep three to give the, a 51-50 lead.
Senior guard Jaden Bradley was the key for Arizona, and with an 8-foot made jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the game, the Wildcats had stormed out to a 10-point lead.
The Cougars could not bounce back from the deficit, and after several missed shots, the Wildcats secured the victory over Houston.
Bradley and Dell’Orso led the Wildcats to victory by combining for 39 points, and Houston’s defense had no answer.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings led the way for Houston, finishing with 17 points, and eight rebounds.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp followed with 14 points; however, he shot just 2-for-11 from the floor.
Freshman guard Chris Cenac has flipped a switch and he is really starting to flourish in Houston’s system.
Today, he finished with a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
This loss was Houston’s second loss at home since joining the Big 12 Conference.
Now losing back-to-back games, it is clear Houston has several areas to improve upon heading into March.
Houston now turns its focus to taking on No. 8 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night at 8 p.m.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).