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The No. 4 Arizona Wildcats are heading east to challenge the No. 2 Houston Cougars on their home floor in a marquee, top-10 matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ABC. Arizona (24-2, 11-2 Big 12) is coming off a 75-68 home win over No. 23 BYU on Wednesday snapping a two-game losing skid; Houston (23-3, 11-2) dropped a 70-67 road loss at Iowa State on Monday, but have won four of out its last five dates. Here’s our prediction, preview, odds and key storylines to get you ready for tipoff this weekend.
ARIZONA VS. HOUSTON GAME ODDS
Houston enters the contest as a 5.5-point favorite with an over/under of 139.5 points. The Wildcats enter the weekend as a surprising underdog following back-to-back losses at Kansas and Texas Tech at home.
KEY STORYLINE: CAN ARIZONA CARRY ON WITHOUT KOA PEAT?
Arizona freshman forward Koa Peat is expected to miss Saturday’s road trip as he recovers from a lower leg muscle strain, according to Michelle Gardner of the Arizona Republic. Peat missed the BYU game as a result of the injury, and the team’s official X account noted that he’d be re-evaluated next week. Munich, Germany, native Ivan Kharchenkov produced 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting earlier this week against BYU, and will get another challenge this week at Houston.
MATCH UP TO WATCH: YET ANOTHER BIG 12 FRESHMAN FACEOFF
Arizona freshman star Brayden Burries and Houston’s emerging lottery pick, Kingston Flemings, will battle it out for their respective high-octane offenses on Saturday afternoon. Flemings was 67% from the floor with 22 points in Ames on Monday; Producing a game-high 10 assists against BYU, Burries was just 4 of 13 for 12 points for the Wildcats on Wednesday.
PREDICTION: HOUSTON 74, ARIZONA 68
Houston is a perfect 13-0 at the Fertitta Center so far this season, and will be putting the Big 12’s top defense to the test with one of the country’s deepest lineups, albeit without a key contributor in Peat. Arizona has diverted away from double-digit turnovers for two games in a row, but it’s hard to imagine that trend holds against Houston, which forces between 14 and 15 per game. Protect the ball and the Wildcats could hand Houston its first home loss, but I’m picking Houston to defend its own house with the league title on the line.
