No. 2 Houston basketball suffered its first home loss of the season, 73-66, against the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in Fertitta Center, in what was the first top-five home matchup in program history.
This was a massive heavyweight game, but Houston basketball clearly got outplayed by Arizona in this one. The Wildcats had the lead for the majority of the game and accomplished the incredibly difficult feat of being in control of a game on Houston’s home court. Arizona also did this without freshman standout Koa Peat.
The Cougars dropped to 23-4 on the season and 11-3 in the Big 12. This is the first time Houston basketball has lost back-to-back games since Jan. 2024, when UH initially joined the Big 12.
Here are two takeaways.
Takeaway #1: Turnovers and droughts
The problem that hurt Houston in this one was the surprising number of turnovers. Houston basketball is always one of the best at controlling the ball and not giving it away. That was not the case at all as Houston turned it over 12 times, and that resulted in 16 more points for the Wildcats.
A lot of them happened early, and that allowed Arizona to get off to a good start. Houston’s front court particularly struggled as freshman Chris Cenac Jr. and junior Joseph Tugler each had three turnovers. Meanwhile, Houston was only able to force five Arizona turnovers that resulted in just three points. It’s always a critical part of UH’s game that translates to its offense.
Arizona had nine steals while Houston had just two. That typically leads to points in the fast-break for the Cougars, but that was nonexistent in this. Besides that, the scoring droughts in each of the halves were tremendous. While it wasn’t that bad in the first half, as it was eight minutes without a field goal, Houston was still getting to the line with free throws.
The main problem was when Houston basketball had an eight-minute complete scoring drought in the second half, right after it took the 50-48 lead with 11 minutes to go. Houston did not score as Arizona took advantage with a 12-0 run. The Wildcats went up 60-50 before Houston finally scored with just over four to go. The turnovers were an issue there.
Takeaway #2: Arizona dominance inside
The Wildcats have been great at the rim and inside the paint throughout the season, and it was no different in this game. Arizona was plus 18 in points in the paint, with 38 of their 73 scored in that area. Houston was not able to defend that well early, and Cenac Jr. had a difficult time dealing with some of Arizona’s bigs like Ivan Karchenkov and Motiejus Krivas. Arizona point guard Jaden Bradley was terrific getting to his spots in important periods.
Arizona’s defense is one of the best in the country, and Houston was unable to get downhill and attack effectively for most of the game. Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings is typically elite in the paint, and he was having difficulty getting to the rim early in the game before he started taking over.
Although Houston outrebounded Arizona, it did not take full advantage of its offensive rebounds. Cenac Jr. had a double-double and corralled 13 boards, but Houston only got 12 points off 13 offensive rebounds. Houston shot only 36% compared to 45% for Arizona.
Up next for Houston basketball: at Kansas, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. CST