Texas Tech beat Arizona 70-54 last month in Lubbock to give Arizona its only Big XII loss this season. Arizona and Texas Tech are playing the fifth-best game this week according to Andy Katz of NCAA.Com. Texas Tech is coming off of an 82-81 upset win at Houston, ending the Cougars' 33-game home winning streak.
Arizona and Houston are tied with 9-1 Big XII records with both losing to Texas Tech. Houston is fifth in both polls this week, Texas Tech is 13th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 12th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and Arizona is 20th in both. Iowa State and Kansas are the other ranked teams in the Big XII.
Houston is third, Iowa State seventh, Texas Tech eighth, Kansas ninth and Arizona 11th as the Big XII dominates the NCAA Net Ratings. Saturday is the first of consecutive Saturdays for Arizona hosting a team ranked in the top 10 in the Net Ratings. Houston is at Arizona on February 15.
Iowa State at Kansas on Monday night is the top game listed by Katz. Iowa State beat Kansas 74-57 in Ames last month. Duke at Clemson, St. John's at Connecticut, and Michigan State at UCLA are the top five games this week listed by Katz. There are five other games posted by Katz to form a top 10.
Inching closer to the madness 🤩
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As we enter the first week of February, @TheAndyKatz lists the top 🔟 games to watch for 📺 pic.twitter.com/doqNN3lFMW
Houston at Arizona next week will almost definitely be on Katz's list. Arizona has a difficult two-day turnaround after playing Houston with a game at Baylor on February 17. Arizona at Iowa State on March 1 and at Kansas on February 8 are other Wildcats games that will likely appear on Katz's list.
Arizona's move to the Big XII has created a more difficult schedule, but also more marquee games throughout the season. According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index, Arizona has the 15th toughest schedule nationally and the 10th most difficult remaining schedule.