KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Arizona guard Jaden Bradley had just emerged from the locker room, his left wrist tightly taped after a collision left him holding it in pain. Koa Peat was mired in foul trouble, and Houston was making a big run in the Big 12 Tournament title game
All season long, the second-ranked Wildcats had demonstrated their talent.
On Saturday night, they proved their resilience.
Brayden Burries broke out of a slump with 21 points, including a pair of clinching free throws with 8.3 seconds left. Peat also had 21 points and Bradley, who hit the semifinal game-winner against Iowa State, finished with 13 as Arizona held on for a 79-74 victory over the fifth-ranked Cougars in a rematch of last year's championship game.
“They're just resilient, you know? And they just have this unbreakable spirit,” Tommy Lloyd, the Big 12 coach of the year, said of his Wildcats. “These guys do an amazing job of figuring it out in tough moments.”
It's a talent that should serve the Wildcats (32-2) well going into next week's NCAA Tournament. They've won nine straight since their only two losses of the season, and six of those wins have come against ranked opponents.
“We got in the Big 12 and I learned real quick we were looking up and chasing a program, and it was Houston,” Lloyd said. “And not that we were fixated on the chase, but it gave us a great barometer for what we felt we had to do in our program.”
The Wildcats, who lost to the Cougars 72-64 in their Big 12 title game debut a year ago, led 75-66 with just over a minute left on Saturday night before Mercy Miller and Milos Uzan hit 3s on consecutive possessions to give Houston a chance.
But when Peat missed a jumper with 22 seconds to go, Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas gathered the rebound and was fouled under the bucket. The 7-foot-2 junior from Lithuania calmly made both free throws to extend the Wildcats' lead.
Kingston Flemings and Miller missed layups at the other end for Houston (28-6), and by the time Miller was fouled and made two free throws, there was just 13.2 seconds to go. Burries was fouled on the inbound pass and put away the game.
“You had the two best teams in the Big 12 fighting down the stretch. Either team could have won the game," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Sometimes it comes down to a break. Sometimes it comes down to a whistle. Sometimes it comes down to a bounce. When two teams are evenly matched like they were today, that's what it comes down to.”
The championship matchup — one befitting of a Final Four — was close throughout the first half until Burries, who'd missed 11 straight shots going back to a quarterfinal win over UCF, finally got hot for Arizona. The All-Big 12 guard hit four in a row late in the first half, scoring the Wildcats' last 10 points and giving them a 44-36 advantage at the break.
They stretched the lead to 15 points in the second half as the game became more physical.
In a span of a few minutes, Bradley hurt his wrist in a collision and briefly went to the locker room. Peat was slow getting up after he was hammered on a shot. And during a scrap for a loose ball, five bodies hit the floor, and when a jump ball was finally called, Burries and Houston forward Kalifa Sakho laid on the court unwilling to let go.
Houston was still trailing 59-44 when it finally went on its big run, scoring 14 straight points and nearly drawing even.
But the unflappable Burries answered with a three-point play, Ivan Kharchenko scored on three straight trips down floor for the Wildcats, and they managed to regain just enough breathing room to survive all the way to the finish.
“Arizona is really good,” Sampson said. “If Arizona had lost to Houston, I'd have said the same thing. ‘Arizona lost to a really good team. There’s no shame in Arizona losing to Houston.' And I'll say the same thing the other way. Arizona is really good.”
Houston will likely be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and play first- and second-round games in Oklahoma City. Perhaps more importantly, the Cougars would play their regional semifinal in Houston should they advance.
Arizona should have a short trip to San Diego for its opening weekend games in the NCAA Tournament. If the Wildcats advance, the projected No. 1 seed would head up the coast to San Jose, California for the second weekend.
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Houston's Joseph Tugler (11) chases a loose ball between Arizona's Tobe Awaka (30) and Anthony Dell'Orso (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana has amplified an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in several states new grounds to redraw voting districts.
Louisiana has suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is pressuring other states to redistrict — potentially still ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the closely divided House.
Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw U.S. House districts to give the party an advantage. Democrats in California responded by doing the same. Then other states joined the battle. Lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states.
That total could grow following the Supreme Court’s decision that significantly weakened a provision in the federal Voting Rights Act.
Here’s a look at how some states are responding to the Supreme Court ruling:
Current House map: two Democrats, four Republicans
Early in-person voting was to begin Saturday for Louisiana’s primaries. But Republican Gov. Jeff Landry moved quickly Thursday to postpone the congressional primary while allowing elections for other offices to go forward.
A federal lawsuit filed later Thursday, on behalf of a Democratic congressional candidate and voter, asked a court to block Landry’s order and allow the House primary to occur as originally scheduled. Among other things, the lawsuit asserted that tens of thousands of absentee ballots already have been mailed to people and a substantial number have been filled out and returned.
Separately, a three-judge federal court panel that heard the case that was appealed to the Supreme Court also issued an order Thursday suspending Louisiana’s congressional primary.
Republican state House and Senate leaders said they are prepared to pass new U.S. House districts — and set a new primary election date — before their legislative session ends in a month.
Current House map: two Democrats, five Republicans
Alabama officials on Thursday filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court seeking an expedited review of a pending appeal in a redistricting case.
A federal court in 2023 ordered the creation of a new near-majority Black district in Alabama, resulting in the election of a second Black representative to the U.S. House. Alabama is under a court order to use the new map until after the next census in 2030.
An appeal pending before the Supreme Court argues that the map is an illegal racial gerrymander, a claim similar to that made in Louisiana.
The state is seeking to lift an injunction blocking the use of the 2023 map drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature that did not include the new district.
The state’s primaries are set for May 19. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that the state is “not in position to have a special session at this time” on redistricting.
Current House map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans
Hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, Florida’s Republican-led Legislature approved new U.S. House districts that could help the GOP win up to four additional seats in November.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session without knowing when the Supreme Court would issue its opinion in the Louisiana case. But DeSantis expressed confidence that the court would rule as it did. Among other things, the new map reshapes a southeastern Florida district that DeSantis said was created to help elect a Black representative in an attempt to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.
A Florida constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2010 prohibits districts from being drawn to deny or diminish the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the representatives of their choice. DeSantis said he considers that amendment a violation of the U.S. Constitution. That question is expected to be decided by the courts.
Current House map: one Democrat, eight Republicans
The Tennessee General Assembly recently ended its annual session. But pressure is growing to bring lawmakers back to revise the state’s congressional districts.
Trump posted on social media Thursday that he had spoken with Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat. Democrats currently hold only one seat, a district centered in Memphis, which is majority Black.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, said he is in conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the court’s decision.
The state’s candidate qualifying period ended in March. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Current House map: one Democrat, three Republicans
Mississippi held its U.S. House primaries in March. But the Supreme Court’s decision could affect elections for other offices.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced previously that he would call a special legislative session to redraw voting districts for the state Supreme Court that would begin 21 days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Louisiana case. That would put the special session's start at around May 20.
A federal judge last year ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court voting districts after finding that they violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. Mississippi lawmakers had been waiting on a decision in the Louisiana case before moving forward, but their legislative session ended in April.
Reeves said in his proclamation that the Supreme Court’s decision would provide guidance to lawmakers on whether “race-conscious redistricting” violates the U.S. Constitution.
Current House map: five Democrats, nine Republicans
Early in-person voting began April 27 and continues for the next few weeks ahead of Georgia’s primary elections on May 19.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said it’s too late for Georgia officials to try to change congressional districts for this year’s elections, because voting already is underway. But he said the rationale in the Supreme Court’s decision “requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”
Associated Press writers Jeff Amy and Kim Chandler contributed to this report.
FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
A person walks past a voting sign during the first day of early voting for the primary elections at the Dunwoody Library in Atlanta, Monday, April 27, 2026. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
