HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Dell’Orso tied a season high with 22 points and No. 4 Arizona toppled second-ranked Houston 73-66 on Saturday to move into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.
Arizona (25-2, 12-2), which opened the season 23-0, won its second straight game following consecutive losses to then-No. 9 Kansas and then- 16th-ranked Texas Tech, that knocked the team out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll.
The Wildcats were down by two before scoring the next 12 points to make it 60-50 with about five minutes remaining. The Cougars missed eight consecutive shots and had three turnovers in that stretch to allow Arizona to build the lead.
Houston (23-4, 11-3) hadn’t scored in about eight minutes when Emanuel Sharp made two free throws with 4 ½ minutes to go. Kalifa Sakho made two more free throws to cut the lead to 60-54 with less than four minutes remaining.
It had been more than 10 minutes since the Cougars made a field goal when a 3-pointer by Kingston Flemings got them within 61-57, but Arizona got four straight points by Jaden Bradley to pad the lead with just over a minute left.
Flemings had 17 points and Sharp added 14 for the Cougars, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season after falling 70-67 at No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night to end a six-game winning streak.
The Cougars struggled to take care of the ball, committing 12 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Wildcats.
Arizona led by as many as 10 in the first half and was up by four early in the second half before the Cougars used an 8-2 run to make it 44-42, giving them their first lead of the game with about 14 minutes left.
Arizona visits Baylor Tuesday night.
Houston visits No. 8 Kansas Monday night.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov, top, attempts to secure a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The pressure is on Arsenal after Manchester City cut its lead at the top of the Premier League to two points on Saturday.
Second-place City beat Newcastle 2-1 to turn the heat up on the title race.
Victory at the Etihad Stadium piles the pressure on leader Arsenal ahead of Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham.
Nico O'Reilly scored both goals for Pep Guardiola's team and extended its unbeaten run in the league to five.
“The win was the most important thing. Try to close the gap as well as apply as much pressure as possible, but (I'm) also very happy with the two goals,” O'Reilly said. “It’s a lot of games to go, we just need to take each game as it comes.”
City also moved further clear of third-place Aston Villa, which drew 1-1 with Leeds. Chelsea is fourth after a 1-1 draw with Burnley.
City is the team chasing down Arsenal, which has stumbled in recent weeks with only two wins in its last seven.
By contrast, City is finding form at the right time for a title run and ground out victory against Newcastle.
Guardiola and his players appeared to acknowledge how important the result could be as they embraced each other after the final whistle.
Aston Villa's title challenge was hit after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-fighting Leeds on Saturday.
It took an 88th-minute equalizer from substitute Tammy Abraham to rescue a point for Villa — but the draw means Unai Emery's team could be cut further adrift of Arsenal and Manchester City at the top of the standings.
“There are two sides — one is that we lost two points, or that we won one point,” Villa coach Unai Emery said. “We have 51 points. Today, we lost two, or we won one. At this point, hopefully, we can get the next matches, understanding this point better.”
Villa's draw leaves it seven points behind Arsenal and continued its shaky recent form of just one win in four in the league.
It could have been worse after Aton Stach put Leeds ahead from free kick in the 31st.
Abraham, a January signing from Besiktas, came on in the 75th and leveled from close range for his first Premier League goal since his move to Villa Park.
Leeds is seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Zian Flemming scored in the 93rd at Stamford Bridge to salvage a draw for second to last place Burnley.
Joao Pedro's goal in the fourth looked like being enough for the home team, which went down to 10 men when Wesley Fofana was sent off in the 72nd.
“You need to be ruthless in this league because if you don’t defend set plays well then you get punished," Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior said. “I felt we were very happy — and it’s not the way I want to play — just to maintain possession, I want us to go for more goals."
The point moved Chelsea up to fourth — above Manchester United on goal difference, having played a game more. But the race for Champions League qualification could be even tighter by the end of the weekend with Liverpool now having the chance to move level on points with Chelsea if it beats Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
United plays Everton on Monday.
James Milner played his 654th game in the Premier League to set a new appearance record for the competition.
The 40-year-old Milner surpassed the previous benchmark set by Gareth Barry, which had stood since 2018. And he doesn't sound like he's ready to call it a day yet.
"I’ll keep pushing, let’s see where that takes us,” Milner said after Brighton's 2-0 win, which delivered a setback to Brentford's Champions League challenge.
Goals from Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck put Brighton in control before the break at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford is five points off the Champions League places.
U.S. international Tyler Adams was back on the field for Bournemouth — making his first appearance since tearing his left MCL on Dec. 15.
Adams was in the starting lineup for the 0-0 draw against West Ham and played for 66 minutes before being replaced by Ryan Christie.
It’s now just one loss in six for West Ham as its battle to avoid the drop continues to gain momentum.
West Ham, in 17th, is two points away from safety, but has played a game more than its closest rival Forest.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly hugs Manchester City's Erling Haaland after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchetser City nad Newcastle in Manchester, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly celebrates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchetser City nad Newcastle in Manchester, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchetser City nad Newcastle in Manchester, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Brighton and Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck scores their side's second goal of the game past Brentford's goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher during their English Premier League soccer match in London Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Peter Tarry/PA via AP)
Burnley's Zian Flemming celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during their English Premier League soccer match against Chelsea in London, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Burnley's Maxime Esteve, left, and Chelsea's Cole Palmer battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match in London, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during their English Premier League soccer match against Leeds United in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
