Arizona men's basketball: Scouting report for Saturday's game against Houston

No. 6 Houston (20-4, 12-1) at No. 13 Arizona (17-7, 11-2) | McKale Center | Noon Saturday | ESPN | 1290-AM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Carter Bryant (6-8 freshman)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

HOUSTON

G Milos Uzan (6-4 junior)

G L.J. Cryer (6-1 senior)

F Emanuel Sharp (6-3 senior)

F J’Wan Roberts (6-8 senior)

C Joseph Tugler (6-8 sophomore)

How they match up

Series history: Houston tied the series at 6-6 when the Cougars ousted the Wildcats in the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16, winning 72-60 in San Antonio. Before that, Arizona swept a home-and-home series with Houston in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Houston overview: Picked to finish second in the Big 12 upon moving from the AAC last season, Houston won it by two games. Then they lost star guard Jamal Shead and were picked to finish second again this season. No matter: Houston is alone in first place anyway, having plugged Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan into a well-established system that also returned four starters. The Cougars have lost only one game in regulation, to current No. 1-ranked Auburn on Nov. 9, while losing to Alabama, San Diego State and Texas Tech in overtime.

One of three teams ranked in Kenpom’s Top 10 for both offensive (No. 4) and defensive (No. 6) efficiency, the Cougars get it done by taking care of the ball (ranking 16th with a turnover percentage of just 14.3%), shooting 3-pointers at a 39.4% rate (sixth nationally) and collecting offensive rebounds at a 38.7% rate that ranks eighth nationally.

Uzan, a former Arizona recruiting target who once played for Glendale Dream City, has fit in seamlessly with a 4-1 assist-turnover ratio and 39.0% 3-point shooting. He’s averaging 4.7 assists in Big 12 games.

Houston is led behind the 3-point line by LJ Cryer (41.0% overall, 40.7% in the Big 12) and Emanuel Sharp (44.2% overall, 37.5% Big 12), though Sharp has been dealing with an ankle injury that cost him two games before he returned Monday against Baylor.

In addition, Cryer and Sharp both shoot better than 90% from the free-throw line, while inside, power forward J’Wan Roberts has developed into a 54.5% two-point scorer. 

Defensively, the Cougars rank third nationally in two-point percentage defense (43.0) and are fifth nationally in percentage of two-pointers they block (17.1%) while they also rank 28th in steal percentage (12.6%).

Center Joseph Tugler, a long-armed 6-8 sophomore, ranks third nationally in block percentage (14.2%). Returning from a broken foot late last season, he beat out the Cougars’ starting center last season, Ja’Vier Francis, who is averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench.

He said it: “They fit very well in terms of how they play and they don't turn the ball over a lot, and that just leads to more efficiency. For (Uzan) to come in his first year and find his way to the point where he's running the show and producing in their system, he has shown his efficiencies with their team.

“Sharp shoots the ball from deep range and it doesn't matter if you’re right there in his face or not, he's able to knock those shots down. Cryer is just so active and fast with the ball. He can get his shot off quickly. He’s has been playing extremely well over the last seven games or so. Some of that's because Sharp wasn't in the game but he's been very productive.

“(Roberts) is just beating you to the basket, or finding his spots on the floor. It just goes with what they do. They're efficient. They don't take bad shots. They’re a tremendous rebounding team, and they make you pay for mistakes that you make.

“(Tugler) has an unbelievable wingspan. He’s able to get his hands on a lot of balls and keep balls alive, and he just gets to the boards.” — UA assistant coach Steve Robinson, who scouted the Cougars

Key players

Houston — L.J. Cryer

After playing through a foot injury last season and rehabilitating from April surgery afterward, Cryer has become a major postseason honors candidate. In Big 12 games, he ranks first in made 3-pointers (2.8 per game) and is third in 3-point percentage (40.7). He’s hit 43.2% of his 3s over his last five games.

Arizona — Henri Veesaar

Houston has long and aggressive players inside, but the Cougars don’t have anyone over 6-8. That might give Veesaar a matchup advantage offensively, as he also ranks 68th nationally with a block percentage of 7.2.

Sidelines

Face-stomping memory

Despite being a student of Arizona basketball history, UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Friday he had not heard what happened the last time Houston visited McKale Center.

Most likely, a lot of UA fans do. That was the Jan. 24, 2009, game in which Houston’s Aubrey Coleman stepped on the face of Wildcat standout Chase Budinger, ultimately helping inspire the Wildcats’ comeback from a 10-point deficit with 52 seconds left to tie it and then win in regulation.

“I think it sparked us,” Budinger said after that game. “I think the other guys got hyped. The crowd got into the game. Momentum just switched toward us.”

With 9:51 left, Coleman extended his left right arm into Budinger after he crossed the midcourt line with the ball and was called for a charge. Then, after Budinger fell backward on the play, Aubrey stepped on Budinger. Officials ejected Coleman for a flagrant foul and handed Budinger a technical for pushing Coleman when he stood up.

“He stepped on part of my face and my arm,” Budinger said. “You can kind of still see his footprint on my jersey.”

Joking that “maybe I need to get out more,” Lloyd said he had not heard of what happened that day.

“I do love those stories and I’m not making light of it,” Lloyd said. “I just haven't heard that one. But if we're trying to connect the dots to say that (Saturday’s) game is going to be impacted because Chase Budinger got stepped on the chest, you know and I know that there’s not one player or coach involved in the deal.”

Early reveal

For the first time in the Lloyd era, the Wildcats head into the NCAA’s early bracket reveal with some uncertainty. All teams receiving a No. 1 through No. 4 seed, the top 16 overall, will be revealed at 10:30 a.m. on CBS Saturday, and it's not clear if the Wildcats will be among them.

After a 6-5 nonconference season and an 11-2 start to Big 12 play, the Wildcats generated a No. 5 seed in CBS’ latest bracket projection, while ESPN and On3 had them as a No. 3.

Under Lloyd, the Wildcats received exactly the seed they were given in the early reveal for 2022 (1) and 2023 (2) while they dropped from a projected No. 1 to a No. 2 last season.

Over and back

Not everybody likes a Pac-12-style road trip, it seems.

The Big 12 assigned Houston a game at Arizona on Saturday and one at ASU on Tuesday, allowing the Cougars to spend a long weekend in Arizona with minimal travel.

Instead, they’re flying home after Saturday’s game, with plans to return for the ASU game. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson indicated the noon tipoff Saturday made the difference.

“5 p.m. Saturday (to leave McKale) until 7 p.m. Tuesday is a long time,” Sampson said.

Numbers game

9: Shots blocked by Arizona guard KJ Lewis over the past six games.

85: Division I players to have scored 2,500 career points, a level Caleb Love reached on Tuesday at Kansas State.

100: Straight weeks Houston has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the longest active streak in college basketball after Gonzaga’s 143-week streak was broken on Jan. 15.

— Bruce Pascoe