Sweet 16 scouting report: No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 5 seed Houston Cougars

SAN ANTONIO — The Star's Bruce Pascoe breaks down the starting lineups, storylines and stats as the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats prepare to take on No. 5 seed Houston Thursday night. 

What: No 5 seed Houston (31-5) vs No. 1 seed Arizona (33-3), NCAA Tournament South Region semifinals

Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio

When: 7 p.m. (approx.)

TV: TBS

Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 104.9-FM, 1490-AM

Social media: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Kerr Kriisa (6-3 sophomore)

G Dalen Terry (6-6 sophomore)

F Bennedict Mathurin (6-6 sophomore)

F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 sophomore)

C Christian Koloko (7-0 junior)

HOUSTON

G Jamal Shead (6-1 sophomore)

F Kyler Edwards (6-4 senior)

F Taze Moore (6-5 senior)

F Fabian White (6-8 senior)

C Josh Carlton (6-10 senior)

HOW THEY MATCH UP

How they got here: Houston went 15-3 to win the American Athletic Conference outright, then beat Cincinnati (69-56), Tulane (86-66) and Memphis (75-61) to win the AAC Tournament. The Cougars were then given a No. 5 seed in the NCAA South Region and beat UAB (82-68) and Illinois (68-53) last weekend in Pittsburgh.

Arizona went 18-2 to win the Pac-12 regular-season title and then beat Stanford, Colorado and UCLA to win the Pac-12 Tournament. The Wildcats received a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and, last weekend in San Diego, beat Wright State 87-70 in a first-round game, and TCU 85-80 in an overtime second-round game.

Series history: Arizona leads Houston 6-5 and has won five of the last six matchups. The two haven’t played since the Wildcats swept a memorable home-and-home series during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Arizona won 85-71 on Jan. 12, 2008, when Jerryd Bayless hit 18 of 20 free throws while scoring 33 points. On Jan. 24, 2009, Arizona won 96-90 in overtime when the Wildcats rallied from a 10-point deficit with 52 seconds left in regulation after Houston’s Aubrey Coleman stepped on standout forward Chase Budinger’s face.

Houston overview: Despite losing four starters from their Final Four team last season — and two double-digit scorers to injuries earlier this season — the Cougars are threatening to return to college basketball’s highest stage again.

To the Wildcats, Houston might look like a better version of the TCU team that took Arizona to overtime in a second-round game Sunday, in part because the Horned Frogs scored 19 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds. Houston is just as tough defensively, albeit with a somewhat different style, and the Cougars excel on the offensive glass. They pull down 37.7% of their own misses, the nation’s third best offensive rebounding percentage (TCU is first at 37.9%), while center Josh Carlton is the nation’s fifth highest individual offensive rebounding percentage (collecting missed Houston shots 17.3% of the time when he’s on the floor).

Overall, Houston is one of only five teams to rank in the top 10 of both KenPom.com offensive and defensive efficiency, with a defense that ranks in the top 10 both in two-point percentage defense (44.0) and 3-point percentage defense (28.8).

Offensively, the Coogs shoot an average number of 3-pointers (38.9% of total field goals) and aren’t a good (66.7%) free-throw shooting team. But, partly by putting up so many close-in second-chance shots from its offensive rebounding, Houston excels in two-point shooting, hitting 55.0% from inside the arc.

While Houston coach Kelvin Sampson recruited three transfers to help replace losses from last season — Carlton came from UConn, guard Kyler Edwards arrived from Texas Tech and wing Taze Moore came from Cal State Bakersfield — the Cougars still had to figure it out again after losing double-digit scorers Marcus Sasser (foot) and Tramon Mark (shoulder) in December. They’ve also had seven players miss at least one game due to illness or injury, with a combined total of 66 games lost.

Without Sasser, who was averaging 17.7 points and shooting 43.7% from 3-point range, the Cougars have been doing it by committee. All five starters average  double-figures in points, if you round up point guard Jamal Shead’s 9.8 points per game.

Earlier in the season, Houston pummeled Oregon 78-49 in the “Maui” Invitational that was moved to Las Vegas, then lost to Wisconsin by two points and Alabama by one before ripping off 12 straight wins. The Cougars lost both AAC regular-season games against Memphis but dropped only one other game, at SMU, in conference play.

Despite all its in-season adversity, Houston finished with the exact same AP ranking (15) that it started with in the preseason and hasn’t lost since March 6 at Memphis, turning around to beat the Tigers 71-53 a week later in the AAC Tournament

He said it: “They fly to the glass on both ends, offensively and defensively. They’re aggressive, the way they play and always have played. Kelvin’s been doing this a long time so he has this philosophy about how he wants his teams to play. He does a great job of teaching and emphasizing it and they respond to that.

“One of the things they do on the ball screen is they string it out, which is a little different than some teams. There's always two guys on the ball and then they recover back to their guys (who they're assigned to defend). They try to play in the gaps and they put good ball pressure on you. They don't overextend too much. They try to create good inside position on all shots and plays when you have the ball.

“They’re a very athletic team, so they make up ground. They're not out trying to deny every pass and put pressure on you that way. They put pressure on the ball and they can guard from the 3-point line in for the most part. But they can come on Thursday, be super aggressive and attack us, too. You never know how people are going to respond.

“They’ll run especially if they get a chance to beat you in transition. They shoot the 3s. A full-service team for sure.

"It's just incredible that they're able to respond by losing their best player and not skip a beat. That's a credit to their staff. They’ve got a culture here. They're a Final Four team from last year, so their program is used to winning.

“(Shead) is a glue guy for them, capable scorer. He does what's needed. Edwards is certainly their team's best perimeter shooter. He's really looking to get shots from 3 and doesn't need much time to get them off. Moore's a tremendous athlete. You’ve got to find him in transition because he's explosive. White is a big time scorer inside and Carlton is a big guy who scores around the basket. He rebounds the ball and is just very physical. Probably a lot like (TCU’s Eddie) Lampkin.”

— UA assistant coach Steve Robinson, who scouted the Cougars

KEY PLAYERS

Houston: Fabian White

Having missed most of last season while rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered in the spring of 2020, White played a significant role off the bench in the Cougars’ 2021 Final Four run and this season emerged into a first-team all-AAC player. Equally dangerous inside and outside, White collects offensive rebounds 9.6% of the time he’s on the floor, shoots 55.6% from two-point range and 38.6% from 3. He also ranks 85th nationally in block percentage (6.8).

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Arizona: Azuolas Tubelis

UA coach Tommy Lloyd has benched Tubelis often this season in short spurts for defensive reasons, but took things to an extreme on Sunday against TCU, playing him only four minutes in the second half and not at all in overtime. But Lloyd says he’s since talked to Tubelis about being more aggressive in high-pressure situation and is expecting him to play “great” on Thursday.

Sidelines

Rebounding culture

The NCAA allowed media to view only the first 15 minutes of each team’s practice on Wednesday at AT&T Center, and it was no surprise what the Houston Cougars were doing during that time.

They were spraying shots from around the perimeter, but with a rebounder jumping behind every one in case it didn’t fall in.

The Cougars rank third nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, having a culture that demands such a thing. With Arizona having allowed TCU to scoop up 20 offensive rebounds on Sunday in San Diego, this is a fact the Wildcats are no doubt aware of.

“I feel like coach (Kelvin Sampson) kind of recruits a lot of guys naturally that want to rebound, but when you get here on campus, the first thing he does is he drills it into you,” said Houston center Josh Carlton, who is one of the nation’s leading offensive rebounders. “He puts a bubble up in the room, and we do a bubble drill. There are no made shots when the bubble's up there. Every board is up for grabs.

“I think it's something hard for teams to really guard against or scout because it's every possession. Every possession we've got four guys on the glass. We know that we're going to be able to have the opportunity to do that again against Arizona, so that's going to be a big emphasis for us.”

Mathurin apologizes to cheerleader

Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin addresses the video of him allegedly touching a TCU cheerleader while walking off the court in San Diego. pic.twitter.com/t28Wb06ZbA

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 23, 2022

Arizona sophomore Bennedict Mathurin says he reached out via email to a TCU cheerleader after a video posted to social media indicated he might have touched her while celebrating the Wildcats' second-round win over the Horned Frogs on Sunday in San Diego.

However, UA athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement that Mathurin "did not recall" any contact with the cheerleader, and Mathurin shook his head to indicate "no" when asked if he recalled any contact during a pregame media session Wednesday at the AT&T Center.

Heeke's full statement read as follows:

“Shortly after returning to Tucson, I was notified that people on social media were claiming a video clip showed Bennedict Mathurin may have made physical contact with a TCU student while walking off the court. I have reached out to TCU’s Athletics Department and I spoke with Bennedict. While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize.”

C’est bon

"Bonjour, Bennedict!" In French, Bennedict Mathurin talks about his #MarchMadness experience. pic.twitter.com/aIiPFm2e4x

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 23, 2022

Considering the Wildcats’ two best players lately are both native French speakers, maybe it was about time. Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko fielded three different questions in French during their podium interviews, from a Montreal Gazette reporter and via Zoom.

Both players were asked to translate their responses.

“I said I remain humble,” Mathurin said after the first question. “A lot of people been saying I’ve had a great season so far. The season’s not over now. We have a lot to do left.”

Then Mathurin was asked about himself again. “I basically said it was my first time playing March Madness and it was a pretty good experience," he said.

Then Koloko was asked … about Mathurin. He had to explain that one, too.

In French, Christian Koloko says Bennedict Mathurin is "a winner and he's really confident. Every time he steps on the court, he just wants to win." pic.twitter.com/cXGiDguGg9

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 23, 2022

“They just ask me what makes Benn different,” Koloko said. “I just said it’s his personality. He’s a winner and he’s really confident. Every time he steps on the court, he just wants to win.”

Kriisa improving

Kerr Kriisa joined the Wildcats’ four other starters on the interview podium Wednesday, but UA coach Tommy Lloyd said he hadn’t considered yet whether he would start Kriisa on Thursday.

The Estonian point guard missed three games with a significantly sprained ankle before returning off the bench Sunday against TCU. He’s had three days since then to practice and keep rehabilitating.

“My ankle is doing better,” Kriisa said. “I'm happy we got through the first two games. It gave me extra days to keep doing rehab, let my ankle become better. I feel like I have benefited a lot from the past two, three days.”

Lloyd said Kriisa hasn’t practiced fully this week, making it still uncertain if he would start – even though the Wildcats played better after Kriisa came off the bench in both halves Sunday.

“The focus is still on therapy and strengthening that ankle,” Lloyd said. “I honestly haven't even thought about what I'm going to do with the starting lineup tomorrow. I'll talk to the staff about it and talk to the team, and we'll make a decision.”

Big Ten shade

Appearing to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble on Selection Sunday, Michigan not only received a No. 11 seed but advanced to Thursday’s other South Region semifinal game against Villanova by beating Colorado State and Tennessee last weekend.

In doing so, the Wolverines also made up for an underachieving season - and earned bragging rights over four Big Ten teams that didn’t make it out of the first weekend. Of the six Big Ten teams given NCAA bids, only Michigan and Purdue remain.

“This season was definitely not the best, not the way that we wanted,” Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson said. “Other fans definitely let us know that, particularly Michigan State, Illinois, who else? Ohio State.”

Then Dickinson threw some particular shade at Wisconsin, which lost 54-49 to Iowa State in the second round.

“Who else? There was other team in there. Who was it? There was one more. Oh, oh -- the team down in Madison, the red and white team. They definitely let us know how they felt about our season. We heard those NIT chants. They were hurtful. It's funny how they'll be watching us on Thursday back in their cribs.”

Numbers game

0: Wins for Kelvin Sampson in 15 games against Arizona as Washington State’s coach between 1987-88 and 1993-94.

0: Losses for Kelvin Sampson in two games against Arizona as Oklahoma’s head coach, both in the NCAA Tournament (1999 and 2002).

1: More win UA coach Tommy Lloyd needs to tie NCAA record set by Bill Guthridge (UNC) for most wins by a first-year head coach.

3: More blocks Christian Koloko needs to break Loren Woods’ school record for blocks in a season (102), set in 1999-00.

3: Houston’s rank in offensive rebounding percentage (37.3)

193: Arizona’s rank in defensive rebounding percentage (193)