No. 4 Arizona defeats No. 2 Houston, takes Big 12 lead

Reserve Anthony Dell'Orso matched his season high of 22 points to lead No. 4 Arizona to a 73-66 victory Saturday at No. 2 Houston, handing the Cougars their first home loss of the season and second since they joined the Big 12 in 2023-24.

The Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Big 12) took sole possession of the conference lead with the win over Houston (23-4, 11-3), which has lost two straight after a six-game winning streak.

Arizona managed to win despite freshman starting forward Koa Peat (lower-leg muscle strain) sitting out and frontcourt starters Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas fouling out.

Jaden Bradley had 17 points and four assists with only one turnover in 37 minutes.

Arizona had only five turnovers while Houston had 12, allowing the Wildcats to outscore the Cougars 16-3 in points off turnovers.

Ivan Kharchenkov added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats.

Kingston Flemings led Houston with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Emanuel Sharp had 14 points but shot 2 of 11 from the field. Chris Cenac Jr. posted 10 points and 13 rebounds.

A 12-0 run by Arizona, fueled by four points each from Brayden Burries and Dell'Orso, put the Wildcats ahead 60-50 with 5:30 left.

Bradley made a jumper and then converted two free throws on the next possession to give the Wildcats a 65-57 lead with 1:10 left.

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Dell'Orso went down with a sprained ankle shortly thereafter but was able to return.

After Houston's Joseph Tugler made a dunk, Bradley was fouled and made both free throws to put Arizona ahead 67-59 with 49 seconds remaining.

Flemings was then fouled by Krivas, who fouled out, and made both free throws.

Burries made two free throws before Tugler made another dunk to cut the lead to 69-63 with 37 seconds to play.

After Burries made one of two free throws, Uzan drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 70-66 with 10.3 seconds left.

Bradley converted 1 of 2 free throws, and after a failed 3-pointer by Flemings, Kharchenkov made two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to seal the win.

Arizona led the entire first half after getting off to a 9-2 lead less than four minutes in.

A 3-pointer by Dell'Orso with 4:38 left in the half put Arizona ahead 32-22.

The Cougars went on an 8-2 run and took their first lead at 44-42 on a 3-pointer by Uzan with 14:16 left in regulation.

--Field Level Media

byJastin Mags

in

February 22, 2026

No. 4 Arizona defeats No. 2 Houston, takes Big 12 lead

Reserve Anthony Dell'Orso matched his season high of 22 points to lead No. 4 Arizona to a 73-66 victory Saturday...

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No. 3 Duke outlasts No. 1 Michigan in much-anticipated slugfest

Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and No. 3 Duke held on to beat No. 1 Michigan 68-63 in a much-anticipated, high-intensity nonconference showdown Saturday night in Washington, D.C.

Isaiah Evans racked up 14 points, Caleb Foster provided 12 points and Patrick Ngongba II turned in 11 points for Duke (25-2). Boozer grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, part of the Blue Devils 13-rebound advantage on the boards (41-28), and also distributed a game-high seven assists.

Yaxel Lendeborg posted 16 of his 21 points in the first half for Michigan (25-2), which had an 11-game win streak snapped. Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 13 points and Aday Mara notched 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting through foul trouble, but the Wolverines ended at 40% from the field, including 6-for-25 from 3-point range (24%).

Earlier in the day, the NCAA Tournament selection committee's bracket preview listed Michigan and Duke, respectively, as the top two overall seeds. Attendance was announced at 20,537, making it the largest turnout for a neutral-site game this season.

Michigan had cut an eight-point deficit to 61-58 with 2:18 left when Boozer drained a 3-pointer. But Elliot Cadeau countered for the Wolverines with a three of his own with 1:39 left.

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Boozer scored on a short jumper on the next Duke possession. Cadeau's two free throws came with 51 seconds to play.

Duke milked some clock, but when Ngongba II missed a shot, he grabbed the rebound. So instead of the Wolverines having possession with a chance to pull even, Evans sank two free throws at the 14-second mark.

Duke overcame 11 turnovers to push its winning streak to four games since a three-point loss at North Carolina and may be the new No. 1 team come Monday with No. 2 Houston also losing on Saturday.

Duke held a 35-33 halftime lead. Neither team held a lead of more than five points in the first 20 minutes. An Evans 3-pointer early in the second half stretched the margin to 41-35.

Michigan shot 3-for-13 on 3s in the first half and Duke was 4-for-12. The Wolverines, aided by making nine of their first 11 shots, were at 51.9% from the field in the first half.

--Field Level Media

byJastin Mags

in

February 22, 2026

No. 3 Duke outlasts No. 1 Michigan in much-anticipated slugfest

Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and No. 3 Duke held on to beat No. 1 Michigan 68-63 in a much-anticipated, high-inte...

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Leo Messi and MLS champs Inter Miami get trounced 3-0 by Denis Bouanga and LAFC in season opener

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami got off to a rough start in their MLS Cup title defense when David Martínez, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz scored in Los Angeles FC's 3-0 victory Saturday night.

Inter Miami LAFC Soccer

Son Heung-min set up Martínez's opening goal for LAFC, which emphasized its status as a primary threatto Miami's crownduring a lively MLS season opener between two of the league's marquee clubs.

"This game is always special because Messi played, and we have some (desire) to want to beat Miami because Messi is there," Bouanga said. "Every player, the mentality is so high for this game. It's high for all games, but maybe this game is more high than another mentality."

The matchup drew 75,673 fans — the second-largest crowd in MLS history — to the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is next-door to LAFC's home BMO Stadium. The huge crowd celebrated a convincing win for the home team and still enjoyed a good look at Messi, who played the full match despite dealing with a strained hamstring this month.

"This game would have sold out five times at BMO, but we wanted to do something special," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "This is a seminal year in the history of our sport and a big moment in the history of our league, so why not go into this historic stadium, bring Miami here, our champion, and have them play against LAFC?"

Bouanga exchanged jerseys with Messi after the matchbecause the LAFC star's son demanded it, he said with a grin.

Messi's every move was greeted with cheers and boos by the California fans, but he didn't manage a shot on target. The superstar is clearly working out his dynamic with his new teammates after the Herons lost Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to retirement.

Messi put a shot just over Hugo Lloris' bar in first-half injury time, and he never managed to link up with new forward Germán Berterame under pressure from LAFC's impressive defense. Dayne St. Clair, Miami's elite new goalkeeper, also made a positioning mistake in his debut that greatly simplified Bouanga's goal.

"They put us (under) a lot of pressure, but we defended really well," LAFC head coach Dos Santos said. "I don't think we conceded big chances. There were these half-chances, but overall … I think that part of our game today, A-plus. The part of (our) possession, B. We can be much better, and we want to be much better, but our guys were a team."

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Dos Santos won in his debut asthe third head coach in club history. The former Vancouver head coach and longtime LAFC assistant led his team to a 6-1 win over Real España earlier this week in its CONCACAF Champions Cup opener in Honduras.

LAFC went ahead in the 38th minute when Son controlled the ball in traffic and slotted a perfect pass to Martínez,who found the far bottom corner in stride. The 20-year-old Martínez has started his MLS career slowly, but LAFC remains confident the Venezuelan forward will be a star.

"We need to push him in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has changed (his) mentality, too," Bouanga said of Martínez. "Last year is not the same to this year, and he knows."

Bouanga had a hat trick in CONCACAF Champions Cup play earlier this week, and he added his first MLS goal of the season in the 73rd minute. The Frenchman who finished second to Messi in the Golden Boot race last season converted on a long pass from Timothy Tillman, adroitly heading it over the charging St. Clair beforebanging it home.

LAFC added a third goal in second-half injury time when Ordaz converted a pass from Bouanga.

LAFC improved to 4-2-0 against the Herons in the clubs' history. LAFC also remained unbeaten in its season openers, improving to 9-0-0.

Up next

Inter Miami: At Orlando on Sunday, March 1.

LAFC: Host Real España in the second leg of CONCACAF Champions Cup on Tuesday.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/soccer

byJastin Mags

in

February 22, 2026

Leo Messi and MLS champs Inter Miami get trounced 3-0 by Denis Bouanga and LAFC in season opener

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami got off to a rough start in their MLS Cup title defense when David Martí...

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