Coming into the 2024-25 season, Arizona (22-11) was highly ranked but was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 conference in its inaugural season. That didn't happen, UA secured a 3-seed in the conference tournament and worked it way to the title game following back-to-back wins against Kansas and 2-seed Texas Tech thanks to an impressive 86-80 win over the Red Raiders.

With Texas Tech down key players in Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian, Arizona started the game red-hot jumping out to a 9-0 lead. The Wildcats were able to keep that offensive energy and finished the game shooting 51% from the field.

Leading the offensive charge was star guard Caleb Love, who scored 17 points in the first half while shooting 6 of 8 from the field and knocking down three 3-point buckets.

Overall, Love scored a game-high 27 points while going 10 of 15 from the field and managed to collect four rebounds along the way.

In the last two games of the Big 12 Tournament, Love has scored 38 points while shooting 58% from the field and collecting eight rebounds and seven assists. In the final three games of the regular season, he scored 47 points and shot 30% from the field on 40 attempts.

One thing that helped the Wildcats' offense stay on point against Texas Tech was the work done at the 3-point line. UA had been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams nationally but Friday night the team managed to go 8 of 16 from deep with doing the bulk of the work by nailing five deep balls.

The X-factor for Arizona was guard KJ Lewis, who managed to stuff the stat-sheet by logging 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Every time the offense was hitting a loll, or the defense needed a key stop, it was Lewis coming through in the clutch.

Through two games of the Big 12 Tournament, Lewis has been critical for the Wildcats by scoring 34 points and racking up 13 rebounds and nine assists.

It was another game were Arizona was able to control the paint by outscoring the Red Raiders 40 to 28 in the post. This marks back-to-back games where the Wildcats have dominated the paint. In those games, UA has won the paint war by an average of 19 points.

Arizona has had its struggles on the defensive side of the court by allowing teams to get hot from beyond the arc. However, against Texas Tech, UA locked in and held its opponent to 9 of 28 from deep.

The Wildcats were able to hold on thanks to the effort on the glass where they won 38 to 35 and collected 11 second-chance points giving the team an extra boost down the final stretch of the game.

Now, Arizona will face off against top-seed Houston (29-4) in the Big 12 Title game in what will be the second meeting between the two teams. The only regular season match up ended in a Cougars' 62-58 win in McKale Center. The two teams will face off at 3 p.m. (MST) with the game being televised on ESPN.

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