Arizona beat Houston 73-66 to seize sole possession of Big 12 lead

No. 4 Arizona have moved into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference after defeating second-ranked Houston 73-66 on Saturday.

Senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso equalled a season high with 22 points to lead the Wildcats to their 25th victory of the campaign.

The result sees Arizona improve to 25-2 overall and 12-2 in conference play, recovering their form after recently losing the number one ranking.

Wildcats capitalise on scoring drought

The visitors found themselves trailing by two points in the second half before launching a decisive 12-0 scoring run to lead 60-50 with five minutes remaining.

Houston’s offence collapsed during this critical stretch, as the hosts missed eight consecutive shots and committed three turnovers.

The Cougars went more than 10 minutes without a field goal until Kingston Flemings ended the dry spell with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 61-57.

Jaden Bradley responded immediately for the Wildcats, scoring four straight points to re-establish control with just over a minute left on the clock.

Houston suffer rare back-to-back losses

Flemings led the Cougars with 17 points, while Emanuel Sharp added 14 in a losing effort.

It marks the first time this season that Kelvin Sampson’s side has lost consecutive games, following a narrow defeat at Iowa State on Monday.

Ball security proved to be a deciding factor, with Houston committing 12 turnovers which Arizona converted into 16 points.

The Wildcats had led by as many as 10 in the first half, though Houston briefly rallied to take a 44-42 lead with 14 minutes remaining before their offence stalled.