The Good, Bad and Ugly of No. 5 Houston’s Close Loss vs Arizona in Big 12 Title Game

The No. 5 Houston Cougars put up a fierce rally in the second half, but ultimately fell just short to No. 2 Arizona again in a 79-74 loss in the Big 12 championship game at Kansas City on Saturday evening.

Houston is 0-2 against Arizona this year and lost the rematch of the Big 12 championship from last season that the Cougars won, but could not defend this year. The Cougars finished up Big 12 play for the season with a 28-6 record while Arizona continued its incredible season with a 32-2 record.

Houston shot 44% from the field overall while Arizona was at 46%. Here’s the good, bad, and ugly.

Good: Unexpected Offense

Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Houston Cougars guard Mercy Miller (25) drives to the hoop past Arizona Wildcats guard Anthony Dell'orso (3) during the second half during the men's Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Junior forward Joseph Tugler was surprisingly the leading scorer with a career high 20 points on 9/15 shooting and got a double-double with 10 rebounds and three assists. He was the best player on the floor for Houston and was impressive offensively in the paint.

The Cougars had to look for different scorers in this game, and that is what made it close. Houston got 23 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Mercy Miller put up 13 points and seven rebounds on 5/8 shooting in 21 minutes. Redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty added 10 points.

Just when it seemed like Houston was completely out of it, the Cougars roared back with a monster 14-0 run that changed the game down the stretch. UH was down 59-44 with 14 minutes left, and it was down all the way to just one point at 59-58 with seven minutes left after a layup from Miller.

Houston was competitive in the beginning and had multiple small leads.

Bad: Couldn’t Finish Either Half

The game was tied at 33 with just over three minutes to go in the first half, and Houston had an opportunity to make this really close at the half. That was not the case as Houston gave up an 12-2 run and was down 44-36 at the half with no momentum in its favor. Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries was big time in that with 10 points during that stretch.

It nearly got out of hand at the start of the second half as the Wildcats quickly got the lead up to 15 points with 17 minutes left. It was the Koa Peat show in the second half and Houston had no answers for him in the paint for long stretches.

The variety of scorers became an issue for the Cougars. Senior point guard Jaden Bradley had all 13 of his points in the first half. Freshman Ivan Kharchenkov scored all 12 of his in the second half and was a back breaker for Houston.

Arizona had four starters with at least 12, including both Peat and Burries with 21 points. Meanwhile, the three starting guards for Houston combined for 26 points, which will not get it done against the top teams in the country. Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings had just eight points on 3/12 shooting in one of his worst games. He did add five rebounds and seven assists.

Senior guard Emanuel Sharp picked up five fouls, but only contributed 10 points, while senior guard Milos Uzan added just eight on 3/9 shooting with only two assists.

Ugly: The Line

Arizona had 13 more free throw attempts in this one, which in some ways ultimately decided this game. The Wildcats were 23/27 while Houston was 10/14. It did not help the Cougars at all, as Tugler and Cenac Jr. also had four fouls each.

The early foul trouble also hurt Houston’s guards as all of them picked up two fairly quickly. Sharp not being on the floor in the end hurt them. Arizona did a more consistent job of getting to the line while both teams each had 30 in the paint.

There was not a lot separating both these teams, and it was tight margins that decided it.