The No. 2 Houston Cougars host the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in a Big 12 college basketball matchup. The game tips off at 3 p.m. ET in Houston, Texas.
The Cougars are listed as 5.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at O/U 141.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction, and pick for this Big 12 college basketball matchup.
Houston vs. Arizona prediction, preview
Arizona is the No. 4 team in the country. The Wildcats are 24-2 and have been one of the best teams in the nation all season. The concerning part, however, is that both of those losses came in the last three games. Arizona started the season 23-0, but then rattled off back-to-back losses to Kansas and Texas Tech. Arizona did bounce back well with a good win over BYU last time out, however. This marks another massive test for Arizona against one of the other top teams in the conference. The Wildcats will be without star freshman forward Koa Peat for this game. He missed the BYU game and Arizona managed to get the win anyway, but they’ll miss him against a tougher Houston team.
Houston is the No. 2 team in the country at 23-3 on the season and a perfect 13-0 at home. The Cougars lost a tight one on the road against No. 6 Iowa State last time out. Their only other loss in conference play came on the road against No. 13 Texas Tech. So, the only two games that Houston has lost in conference play have been its two toughest games. The guard duo of Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp is one of the best in the nation and will be hard for any team to stop.
Houston vs. Arizona pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for Houston to cover as 5.5-point favorites. In terms of quality, these are two of the best teams in the country. Both teams are in the top 11 in the nation in offensive rating and in the top seven in defensive rating. However, in terms of tempo, these teams want to play at a completely different pace. Arizona wants to fly up and down the court, ranking 33rd in the nation in adjusted tempo. Meanwhile, Houston wants to make its opponent work hard for every single basket and wants to force defenders to work hard for 30 seconds on the other end of the floor.
Arizona is without one of its best players in Koa Peat for this game. Between that key loss and the home-court advantage for Houston, the Cougars should dictate the pace and wear down the Wildcats.
