No. 6 Houston Basketball Gets Statement Win At No. 13 Arizona: 6 Takeaways

Houston basketball (21-4, 13-1) got a huge victory on the road vs Arizona (17-8, 10-3) 62-58 as the Cougars maintain the top spot in the Big 12 conference.

In one of the toughest road environments in college basketball, UH went into the McKale Center and got a tough, gritty win even when not at their best through almost the first 35 minutes. Houston basketball extends the nation’s longest road-winning streak to 11 games.

In a tense, low-scoring battle at home, Arizona came up short against Houston after holding the lead for the majority of play.

Arizona snagged the first possession., but Houston basketball suffocated them on defense as they fought to find an opportunity to score. Trey Townsend’s close-range shot attempt was rejected out of bounds, leading to a turnover on a shot clock violation.

After both teams missed early opportunities, Houston struck first, setting the tone for a defensive-heavy game.

Midway through the first half, Caleb Love changed the momentum with a fast-break layup, scoring on a 1-on-2 rush that energized the crowd. Arizona followed with a 5-point run to become the first team to break into double digits. At halftime, the Wildcats led 30-25.

UH just shot 36% from the field in the first half, and got outrebounded by eight. Arizona’s defense was very physical and presented issues for Houston offensively. The Wildcats were able to maintain their advantage for the first 30 minutes, as UA led 48-41 with just over nine minutes remaining.

The Cougars stepped up when they needed to, going on a 12-0 run over three minutes to take a 53-48 lead. While Arizona would cut the lead down to one at 57-56 with 1:41 to go, Houston held on for the win. Despite Arizona’s best efforts, including a late surge, the Wildcats couldn’t capitalize on free-throw opportunities and ultimately lost by 4.

Arizona fans are all to familiar with the feeling after that loss to Texas Tech in January.

Takeaways for Arizona (Makenzie Dilworth):

Takeaway #1: Bring back the midrange shot

Once again, Arizona’s reliance on the three-pointer hurt them. The Wildcats made only 5 of 23 three-point attempts, a mere 21.7 percent. Love was especially broke, sinking one of eight attempts.

For a more troubling perspective to consider: the Wildcats turned the ball over more times than they made successful threes (11 turnovers). Arizona needs to adjust its offense to be more versatile.

Takeaway #2: Defense wins games

This back-and-forth, low-scoring game was defined by excellent defense from both teams.

Arizona finished with 28 defensive rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals, forcing 7 turnovers. Houston, however, had 24 defensive rebounds, 3 blocks, and a game-changing 7 steals, while forcing 11 turnovers of their own.

With so many contested shots, this was truly a defensive battle.

Takeaway #3: Wildcats choke at the line

Arizona’s struggles at the free-throw line were critical.

After a game of only four points, it’s hard not to look at Arizona’s five missed free throw attempts in the second half.  Jaden Bradley made both of the team’s free throws in the first half, but the Wildcats made just 11 of 15 attempts in the second half, missing key one-and-one opportunities.

Houston, on the other hand, converted seven of nine free throws, including several clutch shots late in the game.

Takeaways for Houston (Maanav Gupta):

Takeaway #1: Road warrior experience

The Cougars have not lost a road game in more than a year, and that’s due to their physical play throughout the game as well as their experience getting it done in difficult environments. Houston is now 7-0 in Big 12 road play games, with wins at Allen Fieldhouse as well as McKale Center. This program flat out knows how to get it done in these kinds of games. 

A lot did not go right for UH throughout the game, whether it was inefficient offensive play or some mistakes. Junior guard Emanuel Sharp did not score any points on his six looks from three, very uncharacteristic of him as one of the best three-point shooters in the country at 44%. Houston trailed for more than 29 minutes.

“Keeping them from scoring on the offensive glass, out of transition and not turning the ball over,” head coach Kelvin Sampson mentioned postgame on what was key to the win. 

Even though Houston is one of the better three-point shooting teams, the Cougars only made five of them and shot 29%. On games like these where you can’t shoot, UH is still able to win because of their rebounding, defense and lack of turnovers. 

“Houston is the best team in the country at turning things over and the turnover margin,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. 

While Arizona ultimately outrebounded Houston in all categories, the Wildcats did not take advantage of it. U of A had 11 offensive rebounds compared to six for the Cougars, but were only able to generate two second chance points out of it total. Another poor shooting night from Arizona certainly didn’t help as well as the 14 turnovers forced. UH got a critical 13 points off of them. 

“We needed to get this game at our pace, our kids stay connected,” Sampson said.

Takeaway #2: Milos Uzan has really developed

The junior point guard for Houston basketball who transferred from Oklahoma is truly taking the next step, and has developed immensely since the start of the season. Simply put, UH does not come anywhere close to winning without his clutch performance of a season-high 19 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers.

This was his 17th game with one or fewer turnovers for a 4.25 assist-turnover ratio, the best in the Big 12. Uzan has taken his play to another level recently, creating offense as well as making his own shots. During the last four games, Uzan has dished 22 assists and only one turnover. 

“Throughout the game he (Sampson) was telling me I might have to go get 20 tonight,” Uzan said. 

The Las Vegas native made many big shots to keep Houston basketball in it early in the second half, including an attacking layup, multiple floater shots and a contested three. Uzan also had a stretch of making back-to-back floaters, as well as draining the most important one with 1:27 left for a three point lead. 

This is a great sign for Houston in order to make a deep run this season.

Takeaway #3: Clutch plays down the stretch

This also includes the important free throws made at the end of the game by sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux and graduate forward J’Wan Roberts. Houston basketball certainly has had their free throw issues in certain moments, but it never hurt them at Arizona. 

While UH only got nine attempts, they made seven of them. Arceneaux made his first appearance at the line with just 34 seconds left and a one-point lead. The sixth man calmly drained both of them. Roberts was fouled on the next possession and just had to make one to end the game, which he did. 

When Houston basketball was down 48-41 with nine minutes left, graduate guard LJ Cryer came to life, first with a tough midrange jumper. This was followed up with the back-to-back floaters from Uzan before Cryer flipped the game on two back-to-back incredibly clutch three-pointers. While the shot clock was going down in both possessions and no real offensive play, Cryer took it into his own hands and made those two triples that gave Houston a 53-48 lead. 

“Later in the game, we started taking advantage of our first opportunities,” Cryer said. 

Overall, it was a 16-2 run over a five-minute span that got it done. Houston shot 50% from the field in the second half, a huge 12% jump from the first 20 minutes. Cryer ended up with 15 points on 50% shooting overall. 

Next up for Arizona basketball (17-8, 11-3): at Baylor (16-9, 8-6) – Feb 17 at 10 p.m. EST

Next up for Houston basketball (21-4, 13-1): at Arizona State (12-13, 3-11) – Feb. 18  at 9 p.m. EST