Arizona vs. Houston live score, updates, highlights from 2026 college basketball game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Arizona vs. Houston updates, highlights from 2026 college basketball game
Arizona 53, Houston 50 8:45 2nd Half
2nd Half- 9:22: Brayden Burries hits a pair a free throws for a 53-50 Wildcats lead
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2nd Half- 10:15: Houston’s Kalifa Sakho misses a pair of free throws
2nd Half 10:20: Houston with two turnovers on consecutive possessions
2nd Half- 11:10: Anthony Dell’Orso makes 25-foot three point jumper gives Arizona the lead at 51-50
2nd Half- 11:38: TV timeout
2nd Half- 12:11 Teams are trading baskets. Emanuel Sharp give Houston the lead 50-48 with a pair of free throws.
2nd Half- 12:57: Chris Cenac 9-foot pull up jumper puts Houston back in front 48-46.
2nd Half- 13:53: Arizona comes right out of the timeout with a Ivan Kharchenkov layup
2nd Half- 14:04: Arizona timeout.
2nd Half- 14:16: Houston’s Milos Uzan makes 25-foot three point jumper (Joseph Tugler assists). The Cougars first lead at 44-42
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2nd Half- 14:52: Houston’s ninth turnover comes at a time they could’ve taken its first lead.
2nd Half- 15:41: Kingston Flemings with a layup to cut Arizona’s lead to a single point 42-41
2nd Half- 15:55: TV Timeout
2nd Half- 17:37: Houston’s Kingston Flemings starts the half off with five straight points to cut Arizona’s lead to 38-36
Team Stats
|
Halftime |
Arizona |
Houston |
|---|---|---|
|
FG |
15-27 |
9-24 |
|
Field Goal % |
56 |
38 |
|
3PT |
2-6 |
4-11 |
|
Three Point % |
33 |
36 |
|
FT |
4-9 |
9-10 |
|
Free Throw % |
44 |
90 |
|
Rebounds |
15 |
16 |
|
Offensive Rebounds |
4 |
4 |
|
Defensive Rebounds |
11 |
12 |
|
Assists |
7 |
5 |
|
Steals |
5 |
1 |
|
Blocks |
1 |
0 |
|
Total Turnovers |
3 |
7 |
|
Points Off Turnovers |
10 |
0 |
|
Fast Break Points |
8 |
3 |
|
Points in Paint |
20 |
10 |
|
Fouls |
9 |
10 |
|
Technical Fouls |
0 |
0 |
|
Flagrant Fouls |
0 |
0 |
|
Largest Lead |
10 |
0 |
|
Overall Record |
24-2 |
23-3 |
Halftime: Houston trails at halftime for the second time at home as a member of the Big 12.
1st Half- 0:03: Houston’s Chris Cenac layup as the last bucket before the half.
1st Half- 0:22: Sidi Gueye Block on one end leads to a Anthony Dell’Orso kiss-off-the-glass layup on the other end for a 36-29 lead before halftime.
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1st Half- 2:03: Houston losing the turnover battle with seven thus far.
1st Half- 3:43: TV timeout.
1st Half- 4:38: Anthony Dell’Orso makes three point step back jumpshot for a 32-22 lead.
1st Half- 5:04: Houston’s Emanuel Sharp knocks down free throws.
1st Half- 5:22: Houston timeout.
1st Half- 6:59: Houston pulls out a big stop with a Jaden Bradley travel call.
1st Half- 7:58: TV Timeout.
1st Half- 8:25: Ivan Kharchenkov knocks down a 3-pointer, ending Arizona’s scoring drought. The Cougars have found a little bit of a grove.
1st Half- 9:30: Houston’s Tobe Awaka cashes in on a 3-point play.
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1st Half-10:05: Emanuel Sharp with a pair of free throws.
1st Half- 10:44: AnthonyDell’Orso knocks down a set for free throws.
1st Half- 12:05: Arizona and Houston trade buckets with the lead 16-11, but back-to-back triples for the Cougars.
1st Half- 13:58: Houston snaps 3 minute scoring drought with a Milos Uzan three-pointer.
1st Half- 15:08: Timeout on the floor.
1st Half- 15:48: Arizona opens the game with a 9-2 lead behind three Houston turnovers. The Cougars need to settle down.
For the first time in program history, No. 2 Houston will host a top-five showdown inside Fertitta Center when No. 4 Arizona visits at 3 p.m. Saturday in a game that carries major Big 12 implications.
The matchup features the top two teams in the conference standings, with the winner claiming sole possession of first place.
Though it marks the first home top-five game for the Cougars, Kelvin Sampson’s program is familiar with the spotlight. Houston owns a 5-4 record all-time in top-five matchups at all sites, including two appearances during the 2025 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.
The Cougars (23-3) enter Saturday looking to rebound from a 70-67 loss at No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night. Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings scored 22 points with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and four assists in Ames, while senior guard Emanuel Sharp added 16 points with four 3s.
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LIVE:Watch Arizona vs. Houston on the ESPN App
Freshman forward Chris Cenac grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds against the Cyclones and leads Houston with 7.6 boards per game, ranking among the Big 12’s top 10.
Flemings paces the Cougars with 16.6 points and 5.3 assists per contest, shooting 49.7% from the field. Sharp averages 16.5 points and recently passed Marcus Sasser as Houston’s all-time leader in 3-pointers.
Arizona (24-2) comes into the game after having a 23-0 streak snapped last week. Tommy Lloyd’s team have lost two of the last three with a bounce back win over BYU on Wednesday night.
Houston has dominated at home, posting a 122-7 record inside Fertitta Center, including wins in 18 straight and 51 of its last 52 games.
Where to watch Arizona vs. Houston basketball
Date: Feb. 21
Time: 3 p.m. ET
The huge Big 12 matchup between the No. 2 Houston Cougars hosting the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats will tip-off at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 21. This could be a conference championship matchup between the two powers.
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What channel is Arizona vs. Houston on?
TV: ABC
Live stream: ESPN App
Radio (Arizona): ESPN Xtra 81
Radio (Houston): KPRC 950 AM
Radio (SiriusXM): 81 (Arizona) / 200 (Houston)
The Cougars and Wildcats matchup can be caught nationally on ABC. The broadcast team features Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst). Fans looking to stream the action can do so via the ESPN App with a valid cable login.