Houston Cougars (28-5, 16-4 Big 12) vs. Arizona Wildcats (31-2, 18-2 Big 12)
Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -2.5; over/under is 138.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Arizona takes on No. 5 Houston in the Big 12 Championship.
The Wildcats’ record in Big 12 play is 18-2, and their record is 13-0 in non-conference play. Arizona leads the Big 12 in rebounding, averaging 40.0 boards. Tobe Awaka paces the Wildcats with 9.6 rebounds.
The Cougars’ record in Big 12 play is 16-4. Houston is 22-5 against opponents with a winning record.
Arizona’s average of 5.9 made 3-pointers per game is 1.0 fewer made shot on average than the 6.9 per game Houston allows. Houston averages 8.6 more points per game (77.2) than Arizona gives up (68.6).
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Wildcats won 73-66 in the last matchup on Feb. 21. Anthony Dell’Orso led the Wildcats with 22 points, and Kingston Flemings led the Cougars with 17 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Awaka is averaging 9.7 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Wildcats. Dell’Orso is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Emanuel Sharp averages 2.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Cougars, scoring 15.5 points while shooting 37.3% from beyond the arc. Flemings is shooting 40.7% and averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 8-2, averaging 79.7 points, 37.4 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.0 points per game.
Cougars: 7-3, averaging 73.6 points, 32.3 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.2 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
