When No. 4 Arizona plays at No. 2 Houston on Saturday afternoon, the game will pit the top two teams in the Big 12 standings and will feature contrasting styles.
Arizona’s high-scoring transition offense will go against Houston’s suffocating defense.
As of Wednesday’s games, the Wildcats (24-2, 11-2) ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense at an average of 88.2 points a game, while the Cougars (23-3, 11-2) were No. 2 in scoring defense at 61.6 points allowed per game.
“You don’t get to go up against Houston, especially if it gets a set defense, and pick and choose your shot you want right away,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “They’re obviously a great defensive team, and you just have to have a little more wherewithal on offense.”
Arizona is coming off a 75-68 win Wednesday at home against No. 23 BYU, ending the Wildcats’ two-game skid after achieving a program-record 23-0 start.
Arizona played without starting freshman forward Koa Peat, who will miss Saturday’s game because of a lower-leg injury. Peat, who picked Arizona over Houston and other teams during the recruiting process, also did not play in the second half of last Saturday’s 78-75 overtime loss at home against then-No. 16 Texas Tech.
Dwayne Aristode, a freshman reserve guard with Arizona, has missed the past two games because of an undisclosed illness. His status for Saturday’s game is undetermined.
Brayden Burries, who had 11 points in the win over BYU, played through an illness. He received an IV treatment after the game.
Reserve guard Anthony Dell’Orso scored 22 points, the most in his two-season Arizona career after transferring from Campbell.
“Obviously, we’re going through injuries right now, and it’s just that point of the season where sometimes you hit a little struggle,” Lloyd said. “If you don’t embrace it, you’re not built for it. Our guys have done a good job embracing it, and I thought there was good wherewithal and just finding a way (against BYU).”
Houston, meanwhile, had its six-game winning streak snapped with Monday’s 70-67 loss at No. 6 Iowa State.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings, a projected NBA lottery pick by some draft analysts, scored 22 points in the defeat and is averaging 16.6 points, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season.
Emanuel Sharp (16.5 ppg) and Milos Uzan (11.2) provide veteran leadership on the perimeter, and Chris Cenac Jr. and Joseph Tugler combine to average 13 rebounds per game.
Arizona will counter with the perimeter trio of Jaden Bradley (13.3 points and 4.7 assists per game), Burries (leading scorer at 15.5 ppg) and Ivan Kharchenkov (10 ppg), along with the inside strength of Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka (combined 18.3 rebounds a game).
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson gained an appreciation of Arizona’s program from his days coaching Washington State from 1987-94, when the schools were part of the Pac-10 Conference.
“I’ve just always respected Arizona because they were the top program when I started out coaching,” Sampson said. “They were our Duke. They were our North Carolina. They were our Kentucky. … UCLA had the name, but Arizona had the program.”
Sampson also has lauded Lloyd’s performance in his first five seasons leading Arizona’s program.
“Coaches that don’t understand how to build a culture usually don’t last long in this business,” Sampson said. “Tommy’s always been a great recruiter, but he knows how to coach, knows how to build.”
