No. 6 Houston basketball looks to stay undefeated on the road in the Big 12 and stay on top of the conference in a huge Saturday showdown at no. 13 Arizona. Keep reading for the Houston vs Arizona prediction.
Arizona basketball looks to get back to winning form as they host Houston in McKale Center, in what might be one of the best matchups of the season on Feb. 15. Houston looks to maintain its stellar conference record of 11-1, while Arizona looks to continue to push the Cougars’ conference advantage only behind by one loss at 11-2. Our Houston writer, Maanav Gupta and Arizona writer Reed Lofstedt give their Houston vs Arizona prediction.
Game information:
Teams: Houston (20-4, 12-1) and Arizona (17-7, 11-2)
Tip-off: 1 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN
Listen: KPRC 950
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No. 13 Arizona basketball returns home after a devastating loss on the road to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. A disappointing away trip resulted in Arizona’s second Big 12 loss of the year. Arizona’s loss might have been one of their worst performances this season with a 9.1% three-point shooting percentage off an abysmal 2-22 from the arc. Caleb Love, who had been on a hot streak for the Wildcats, simmered down quickly as he would score 8 points off of 3-15 shooting from the field and 0-7 from the arc.
KJ Lewis was a bright spot for this team as he led the team in scoring with 15 while putting up 8 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Lewis is one of the few pieces working better during this loss, he currently has had two straight games of 15 points while having an average efficient shooting percentage of 55%. This might spell out Lewis’ return to the starting lineup, as his replacement Anthony Dell’Orso, has had very inconsistent play with an average of 2.8 points per game in his last 5 starts.
The struggle for Arizona also became apparent in their reliance on Trey Townsend, who was in concussion protocol following Arizona’s matchup against BYU. While Townsend hasn’t been the greatest scoring threat for the Wildcats as of late, his height and defense make him an imposing force with Tobe Awaka in the paint.
Another defense spotlight for the Wildcats is that of Henri Veesaar. Veesaar has been crucial having four straight games with 10+ points and 6+ rebounds. His bench position has kept Arizona’s paint defense elite as the games roll on. Veesaar and Lewis provided Arizona with the necessary bench depth that was crucial on both of its win streaks.
Arizona has home-court advantage in its outing against Houston, as the Wildcat have only lost one game this season at home, this being against then-No. 12 Duke. However, this may not matter as Houston is 6-0 in away games this season. So Arizona fans are looking to make McKale Center louder than ever.
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The Cougars enter this contest having won 16 out of their last 17 games. Houston is coming off a 76-65 win over Baylor at home on Monday, where graduate guard LJ Cryer led the way with 14 points and junior point guard Milos Uzan posted 12 points and six assists. UH currently has the longest road winning streak in the country at 10 games dating back to over a year, and will look to extend that at McKale Center in the desert. Cryer is the leading scorer for Houston this year, with 14.3 PPG and is top three in the Big 12 for 3-point field goals made (2.3, 3rd) and 3-point percentage (41%, 2nd).
Houston has one of the best scoring and field goal percentage defenses in the country, and will have that tested by Arizona’s strong scorers, most notably fifth year guard Caleb Love.
“He’s dynamic and fearless. Watching him at his best is scary. He’s really, really good,” head Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “They’ve got two alphas in Love and Bradley.”
The all-time series between Houston and Arizona is currently tied at 6-6, where the Wildcats have won three out of the last four matchups. This is the first time meeting the Wildcats since the 2021-22 season, where UH won a huge sweet 16 game during the NCAA tournament in San Antonio 72-60. It was a big upset as Arizona was the no. 1 seed in the region, whereas Houston was no. 4.
“Offensively, they are very athletic in the backcourt. Their speed and transition offense is a factor,” Sampson said.
Arizona leads 4-1 in games played in Tuscon, and the Cougars will try to win their second game ever on Saturday.
“They were the program, they set the bar and they were the best program in the West,” Sampson said.
Houston vs Arizona prediction (Maanav Gupta): Cougars by 2
This is one of Houston’s toughest matchups of the season, going to Arizona and taking on the 2nd place team in the Big 12 so far. UH will need to be on their best from start to finish, and try to limit Caleb Love. I believe Houston has a good shooting day and gets another signature win.
Houston vs Arizona prediction (Reed Lofstedt): Wildcats by 2
This game couldn’t be closer as these sides top the Big 12, but Arizona is coming off an unranked loss to Kansas State. Arizona looks to come back home to McKale, in front of a roaring crowd and dominate. Arizona will need help scoring, especially after going ice-cold from the three-point line. I think with the return of Trey Townsend and Arizona’s winning lineup, they have the potential to knock off the Cougars if they can find their shot.