Four storylines to watch as No. 2 Houston hosts No. 4 Arizona in Big 12 showdown

Every game in the Big 12 conference schedule has future implications. 

With five games left and a tie atop the standings for No. 2 Houston and No. 4 Arizona, Saturday’s matchup carries more than just a top-five billing.

Here are four storylines heading into the pivotal game.

A different style of play 

In its previous two games, Houston has faced Kansas State and Iowa State, the team with the second-most 3-point attempts in the Big 12 (699, Kansas State) and the team with the highest 3-point percentage in the conference (39.8%, Iowa State).

Arizona, on the other hand, isn’t as perimeter-oriented.

In fact, it’s on the opposite end of the spectrum, having attempted only 432 3-pointers this season (16.6 per game). That total is nearly 100 attempts less than UCF’s mark of 530.

That hasn’t stopped Arizona’s offense from high-scoring outputs, as it boasts the most points per game average of any Big 12 team at 87.7.

The Wildcats get the bulk of their points on the interior, having attempted the fifth-most two-point field goals in the nation heading into Saturday.

“It’s kind of different, the way they play, but it’s just as deadly if not deadlier than other play styles,” redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp said. 

Some big, Big 12 implications

Although Houston has already lost two road games this season, it has won all 13 of its home games, including six conference wins. Only Iowa State (15-0) is undefeated at home this season aside from Houston.

Outlasting the competition in the Big 12 means trying to achieve one of the two.

“Last year, we lost one here (at Fertitta Center), but we went undefeated on the road. You’ve got to do one or the other,” senior guard Milos Uzan said. “How the Big 12 is looking right now, you’ve got to win all your home games.”

Though Arizona has one loss at home and on the road, both programs enter Saturday in a deadlock, as they are tied atop the Big 12 standings at 11-2 with only five games remaining to decide the regular-season conference champion. 

The Cougars are in the midst of a grind of a three-game stretch where they lost at No. 6 Iowa State 70-67, which will continue Saturday against Arizona, before the quick turnaround to face No. 8 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.

Arizona corrected course against No. 23 BYU after a two-game losing skid following a program-best 23-0 start to the season. 

The win also showcased the Wildcats’ depth, which will be tested over the next several games with the loss of freshman forward Koa Peat to a lower leg strain.

Additionally, freshman guard Dwayne Aristode will miss his third consecutive game as he continues to deal with an illness.

Talent beyond Peat

The loss of Peat leaves Arizona without its second-leading scorer for Saturday’s game and its top scoring threat on the interior.

Peat has averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 54.2% shooting from the floor before his injury, which he suffered against Texas Tech on Feb. 14.

Arizona was able to withstand No. 23 BYU on Tuesday without Peat, as junior guard Anthony Dell’Orso tallied a season-high 22 points alongside four triples. 

In that game, redshirt junior forward Tobe Awaka made his first start of the season, scoring three points to go alongside six rebounds, two steals and a block. 

On the season, Awaka is averaging just shy of 10 points per game at 9.7, and a team-best 9.6 rebounds a night, including 3.8 on the offensive glass. 

All season long, Peat’s fellow standout freshman teammate, guard Brayden Burries, has followed the same progression arc as some of the nation’s other top freshmen.

In conference play, Burries has averaged 17.1 points, while shooting 49.4% from the floor and 39.7% from beyond the arc on 4.5 attempts per game.

Coach Kelvin Sampson had praise for Burries’ maturity, as well as his ability as a “cold-blooded scorer.”

“He has the ‘it’ factor,” Sampson said. “Some guys have ‘it’ and ‘it’ is an intangible word that is hard to explain, but he has it.”

Keeping a short memory and perspective 

There’s a reason Houston has only lost back-to-back games twice since the calendar turned to 2017.

It doesn’t dwell on its rare losses, a mindset reinforced by Sampson and adopted by his players.

“That’s the good thing about this conference, you can’t dwell on games too long,” Sharp said. “We’ve got good games every game; it’s not just these three. This whole conference season has been a gauntlet.”

After dropping its first road game of the season at then-No. 14 Texas Tech, Houston strung together six consecutive wins, all but one by double digits. 

That forward-looking formula has continued to propel Houston under Sampson, as has the approach of treating every game the same, regardless of outside attention towards particular matchups. 

Whether it’s against another top-five team in the country vying for the Big 12 title, or a team near the bottom of the conference, just seeking to salvage silver linings toward the end of the season.

“Every game is the same in our eyes,” Sharp said. “We approach every game like it’s Arizona. Doesn’t matter who we’re playing; we always have the same mindset, same attitude. We’re going out to compete, play as hard as we can, and win the game.”