It took four years and three tries, but Tommy Lloyd and Arizona have finally gotten their revenge on Arizona.
The 4th-ranked Wildcats pulled off their biggest win yet in a season full of notable ones, beating No. 2 Houston 73-66 on the road on Saturday afternoon. It was only the second time the Cougars had lost at the Fertitta Center in Big 12 play since joining the conference in 2023-24.
The victory moves Arizona (25-2, 12-2) into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with four games to go.
It also owns the tiebreaker over Houston (23-4, 11-3) since this is their only regular season meeting, and UH visits No. 9 Kansas on Monday trying to avoid a 3-game losing streak.
The Cougars were the last Big 12 school Arizona had yet to beat under Lloyd, losing the previous three meetings including in the 2022 Sweet 16 and last year’s Big 12 Tournament final.
Anthony Dell’Orso had his second straight monster performance, dropping 22 again off the bench to lead all scorers and adding a career-high four steals Jaden Bradley had 17 points, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:10 of play, and Ivan Kharchenkov added 16.
Koa Peat missed his second straight game with a muscle strain in his lower leg area, and Dwayne Aristode also sat out a third game with an illness. Dell’Orso played 34 minutes off the bench but Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson combined for 17 minutes, even subbing each other in an offense/defense move late after Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas both fouled out.
The UA was 20 of 31 from the line, missing five in a row at one point late in the first half, but were 10 of 12 down the stretch.
Yet it was Arizona’s defense that made the difference. Houston shot 35.7 percent, missing 11 straight shots in the second half and going 4 of 19 after taking its final lead at 48-46 with 12:57 to go, and the Cougars turned it over 12 times (they averaged a Division I-low 8.2 per game) that resulted in 16 points for the Wildcats.
Freshman Kingston Flemings scored 17 but was 6 of 17 from the field while Emanuel Sharp had 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
A 12-0 run gave the UA the lead for good midway through the second half when Houston went scoreless for almost eight minutes.
Arizona led 36-31 at halftime, only the second time Houston has trailed at the half of a Big 12 game since joining the league in 2023-24. The Cougars got within 40-39 on a 3-point play by Flemings with 16:35 left and then took their first lead at 44-42 on a Milos Uzan 3 with 14:16 to go.
The Wildcats missed seven of eight shots andBradley missed two free throws during that stretch, with Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas both getting their third fouls. Both players would foul out late and combine for just 11 points but they had 11 rebounds and three of the UA’s nine steals.
A Kharchenkov layup tied it after a timeout, the first of three times the UA would tie it over the next three minutes before Dell’Orso nailed a 3 to put the Wildcats back up 51-50 with 11:34 remaining. That came off a set play after a media timeout behind a staggered double screen.
That started a 12-0 run for Arizona, one that took six minutes off the clock and built a 60-50 lead with 5:30 to go after a Bradley jumper. Brayden Burries also scored four in that span, including a putback in traffic.
Burries, who needed an IV after Wednesday’s win over BYU, had seven points on 1-of-5 shooting but helped with 3 of 4 made free throws in the last minute.
Houston finally ended its drought with two Sharp free throws, but didn’t make a field goal until Flemings hit a 3 with 2:27 to go to get within 63-57. The Cougars had a chance to make it a 1-score game shortly after but missed a 3 and after Arizona ran out the clock and made its free throws.
Arizona jumped out to a 9-2 lead, taking advantage of three early Houston turnovers. Awaka had five points in the first five minutes, surpassing his scoring from his first start against BYU.
Dell’Orso had seven points in his first six minutes off the bench, including a 3-point play off a steal, and his two fouls shots put the Wildcats up 20-11 with 10:44 left in the first half. Those free throws came after Dell’Orso drew a second foul on Flemings.
Houston got within 22-19 on a Sharp but then Kharchenkov drained Arizona’s first triple on the other end.
Two first-half fouls on Awaka and Krivas caused Lloyd to go with Gueye at the 5 with 6:59 remaining before halftime and Arizona was only minus-2 with him alone in the frontcourt. The Wildcats twice got the lead to 10 but couldn’t extend it, losing half of that edge mostly because they missed their last five free throw attempts.
The UA stays on the road and in Texas, taking on Baylor on Tuesday. The Bears (13-13, 3-10) hosted ASU on Saturday.
