No. 5 Houston Basketball Falls To No. 2 Arizona In Big 12 Tournament Championship Game
In this story:
Houston basketball came up short in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game as the Cougars lost a close 79-74 game to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday evening, in Kansas City, Mo.
The Wildcats got their revenge on Houston after the Cougars defeated Arizona last season in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game 72-64.
Up next, the Cougars wait for Selection Sunday on March 15, at 5 pm., where they will find out their path to the NCAA Championship game.
Houston vs Arizona Game Recap
The battle of the best two teams in the conference started just as one would expect, with each team trading blows in their own way.
Arizona’s strong suit is scoring in the paint, and the Cougars could not stop that area of the game.
The Wildcats gashed Houston for 30 points in the paint, led by their freshman duo of Koa Peat and Brayden Burries.
Peat was unstoppable down low, finishing with 21 points on 60 percent shooting. Burries also finished with 21 points, and the two young stars played a huge role in keeping the Wildcats ahead for 93 percent of the entire contest.
While Arizona led by as many as many as 15 points in the second half, Houston cut the lead to just two points because of a 14-0 run, powered by 10-straight defensive stops.
Although the Cougars were right in position to take the lead, Arizona made several tough shots and got to the free throw line to secure the win over Houston.
The biggest difference in the game was that the Wildcats were able to get to the line, and they shot 13 more free throws than Houston.
The Cougars once again found themselves in foul trouble, keeping senior guard Emanuel Sharp and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. on the bench more than usual.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler was Houston’s best player tonight, and he was up for the challenge against Arizona’s tough defense as he exploded for a career-high 20 points.
He also added 10 rebounds, a steal and a block to his totals, rounding out a solid tournament for the veteran big.
The Cougars’ bench also picked up the slack in the scoring category, as sophomore guard Mercy Miller and freshman forward Chase McCarty combined for 23 points.
Miller has earned his role on the team because of his impact in limited minutes, and he proved that tonight, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
McCarty also had a productive game, finish with 10 points, including two made three-pointers.
While this is not the outcome coach Kelvin Sampson and his team wanted, the Cougars showed why they are one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament beginning next week.
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).