One of the season’s highly anticipated matchups finally comes in this Top 5 matchup with major implications. Two of the nation’s best teams do battle in the Big 12 as Arizona and Houston face each other on Saturday afternoon. Which of these fantastic squads gets the upper hand in the race for the Big 12 regular season crown?
Recent results have been tough on Arizona (24-2), as the Wildcats’ perfect start was undone by a pair of losses last week. After Tommy Lloyd and company won their first 23 games, they fell to Kansas and Texas Tech before bouncing back nicely with a win over BYU earlier this week. What’s unfortunate is that star freshman Koa Peat will remain out for this major matchup and his services will be desperately missed in perhaps their toughest game of the regular season.
The story isn’t too different for Houston (23-3), though the Cougars are looking for a bounce back in this weekend battle. They remain one of the nation’s top teams, boasting great offense and defense, but this team fell at Iowa State in a great matchup to begin this week. There’s no shame in losing in Ames and the Cougars really have been on fire in recent weeks, but you know that Kelvin Sampson wants to see a great showing from his team this weekend.
Arizona vs. Houston: When and Where
Date:Â Saturday, February 21, 2026, 3:00 pm ET
Location:Â Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas
Arizona vs. Houston: Where to Watch or Stream
Watch:Â ABC
Streaming: FuboTV
Arizona vs. Houston: Betting Odds
Spread: Houston -3.5, Arizona +3.5
Moneyline:Â Houston -200, Arizona +195
Total:Â 139.5
Arizona vs. Houston: Series History
All-time series:Â Houston leads 8-6
Last meeting:Â Houston 72, Arizona 64 (March 15, 2025)
Projected Starting Lineups
Arizona Wildcats
Brayden Burries (15.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
Jaden Bradley (13.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.7 apg)
Motiejus Krivas (10.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
Ivan Karchenkov (10.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
Tobe Awaka (9.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg)
Houston Cougars
Kingston Flemings (16.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.3 apg)
Emanuel Sharp (16.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Milos Uzan (11.2 ppg, 4.1 apg)
Chris Cenac Jr. (9.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
Joseph Tugler (7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
It’s pretty clear that Houston has an advantage with this game on their home floor but nobody’s crowning the Cougars by any means. They do have the additional advantage of health, as Arizona will certainly miss Peat against this strong defense. If the Wildcats are going to win this game, they’re going to need players like Awaka and Krivas doing significant work on the boards and winning those important matchups. Meanwhile, the Cougars are just hoping that their own star freshmen in Cenac and Flemings can put together another impactful showing. Many eyes will be on this matchup and the team that plays the cleanest game defensively likes comes away with a major Big 12 win.
In this exciting Top 5 matchup, can Arizona find enough offense to solve these Cougars and got one of the season’s more impressive wins. Does Houston lock down defensively and get back in the win column and grab that stranglehold on the top spot in the Big 12?