No. 2 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (32-2) made program history on Saturday, March 14 as they won their first Big 12 Championship, defeating No. 5 University of Houston (28-6) 79-74 in T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Key players
The leading scorers for the Wildcats were freshmen Brayden Burries and Koa Peat, as each of them ended the night with 21 points. Peat also had six rebounds and two assists before ultimately fouling out in the final minute of the game. He had a great night down low as well as on the defensive side of the ball. Burries had a great night from the free-throw line, going 7-for-7 from there, and making two 3-pointers.
Junior Joseph Tugler led the Cougars as he collected 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists. He made things extremely difficult for the Arizona bigs, who got into foul trouble. Sophomore guard Mercy Miller was also essential to the game as he recorded 13 points and one assist.
Game recap
The first half started fast and furious as both teams traded the lead before Arizona built an 8-point gap at the halfway point. However, Houston would not go down without a fight and they tied the game at 33-33 with 3 minutes remaining. The Wildcats went on an 11-3 run to end the first half, which took the teams into halftime 44-36.
The second half began with Arizona jumping out to a 15-point lead before Houston started to battle back, cutting the lead to only 1 point. The game would be close throughout, but Arizona would finally pull away in the last minute.
Arizona held its composure in the final minute to secure the 79-74 victory, avenging last season’s championship loss to Houston. The win marks a historic milestone for the Wildcats as they capture their first Big 12 title and build momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.
Looking forward
The Wildcats get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and will have to wait until the selection show on Sunday, March 15 to see who they will play in the first round in San Diego.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
