No. 6 Houston increased its lead atop the Big 12 standings with a 62-58 win over No. 13 Arizona on Saturday at the McKale Center. The Cougars entered the weekend with a one-game lead over Arizona for first place in the Big 12 and exited Tucson, Arizona, with a two-game advantage over the Wildcats with the head-to-head tiebreaker
Arizona led by nine points in the first half before Houston flipped the switch. The Cougars went on a 12-0 run deep in the second half and held Arizona without a field goal for over six minutes to take control. The Wildcats finished 8 of 22 from the floor in the second half after taking a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis missed a game-tying 3-pointer with 12.5 seconds remaining, and Houston forward J’Wan Roberts split a pair of free throws on the other end to seal the win for the road team. Arizona fell to 8-2 against ranked opponents at home under coach Tommy Lloyd.
Bracketology: Auburn is top seed with Alabama, Duke and Florida also No. 1s as NCAA reveals early bracket
Jerry Palm
Houston guards LJ Cryer and Milos Uzan combined to score 23 of Houston’s 37 points in the second half. Uzan finished with 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting, while Cryer added 15. Uzan, the Oklahoma transfer, has now scored in double figures in eight consecutive games dating back to a blowout win over Utah last month.
The Cougars (21-4, 13-1 Big 12) have won 17 of their last 18 games after starting 4-3. Houston continues its quest toward a second consecutive Big 12 regular season title Tuesday against Arizona State on the road, while Arizona (17-8, 11-3) faces Baylor on Monday.
Houston is the most underrated team in the country
The NCAA revealed its top 16 seeds Saturday, and Houston checked in as the fourth and final No. 2 seed. The Cougars have been playing like one of the best teams in the country since getting off to a slow start with early losses to Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State. Houston has won 17 of its last 18 games and should be a contender to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, depending on how the rest of the season shakes out. The Cougars’ only hiccup came against a very good Texas Tech team earlier this month at home. Houston’s defense is a big reason why Kelvin Sampson’s squad will be one of the toughest outs in March.
Arizona’s scoring drought down the stretch was the difference
Arizona was in control over Houston in the first half, but a major scoring drought that lasted over six minutes late in the second half was the difference. Houston was able to go on a 12-0 run while Arizona couldn’t knock down a shot, and it’s the reason why the Cougars were able to escape with a win. Arizona went just 1 of 9 from the 3-point line during the final 20 minutes, and star guard Caleb Love shot 1 of 5 (0 of 3 from the 3-point line) in the second half. Love got off to a strong start, scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting during the first half, but Houston was able to cool him off after that.
The Cougars are in the driver’s seat to win the Big 12
The next time Arizona and Houston may play each other is in the Big 12 Tournament next month because these programs only play each other in the regular season once. With a two-game lead over Arizona with six games remaining, it would take a late-season collapse for Houston to fall out of first place. The two biggest games remaining on Houston’s schedule are Iowa State and Texas Tech (on the road). If the Cougars avenge their loss to Texas Tech, it will be hard for other teams in the standings to catch them at the top.
Add Comment