Arizona Wildcats vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: ABC

Fertitta Center is the location where the Houston Cougars (23-3) will attempt to defeat the Arizona Wildcats (24-2) on Saturday.

The Arizona Wildcats faced off with BYU and earned the victory with a final of 75-68 in their last game. Arizona ended the game having earned a 45.3% field goal percentage (29 of 64) and made 9 of their 21 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 8 of 12 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 16 assists in the matchup in addition to creating 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding the defense, Arizona allowed their opponent to shoot 43.1% from the floor on 25 of 58 shooting. BYU earned 7 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, BYU grabbed 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. BYU finished shooting 81.3% from the charity stripe by burying 13 of their 16 attempts. They also buried 5 out of their 19 tries from 3-point range. Concerning fouls, the Wildcats ended up walking away with 12 while BYU had 14 fouls.

Anthony Dell'Orso is someone who played a role for the game. He finished the contest at 53.3% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game. He played 26 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. He accounted for 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

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Arizona enters this one with a mark of 24-2 this year. They are averaging 87.7 points per outing (13th in the country) on 50.6% from the field. The Wildcats are shooting 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (154 of 432) and 73.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Arizona is pulling down 43.7 boards per game and has accounted for 460 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 33rd in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.3 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.2 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing 12.7 turnovers every game while drawing 19.5 personal fouls. They surrender 31.4% on three-point shots and they are 55th in D-1 in PPG allowed (68.6). The Wildcats defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.1% (636 of 1,627) and they relinquish 31.3 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 68th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 313 relinquished for the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Houston Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 70-67 when they faced Iowa State. When discussing cleaning the glass, Houston permitted Iowa State to get 30 overall (8 offensive). They went 40.9% from three-point range by shooting 9 out of 22 and ended up going 11 of 22 at the charity stripe (50.0%). The Cougars allowed Iowa State to bury 25 of 51 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0% for the contest. When this game wrapped up, the Cougars went 24 out of 57 from the field which had them shooting 42.1%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, Houston knocked down 12 of their 34 attempts (35.3%). They were able to knock down 7 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 63.6%. Iowa State earned 14 fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 11 shots. They turned the ball over 5 times, while earning 2 steals in this contest. The Cougars recorded 26 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 33 for the game.

Kingston Flemings pitched in for the Cougars in the game. He scored 22 points in his 37 mins on the hardwood and had 4 assists in this game. He buried 9 of 15 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 5 rebounds.

Houston has a record of 23-3 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 45.2% from the field, which has them ranked 184th in the country. Houston has 2,024 points for the campaign (77.8 per contest) and they snag 37.0 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 15.3 times per contest (100th in the country) and they are giving up possession 8.2 times per contest. The Cougars have committed 18.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.9% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars are ranked 2nd in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 61.6. They are forcing 14.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 39.7% from the field (18th in college hoops). The Houston defense surrenders 31.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (181 of 575) and their opponents are converting on 67.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 11.2 dimes and 33.3 rebounds every game, which is 32nd and 114th in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Arizona

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