No. 6 Houston looks to stretch Big 12 winning streak against No. 12 Texas Tech

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Houston was the nation's preseason No. 2 team, had a brief stint at No. 1 and took a tumble to No. 8 following its lone loss.

The Cougars have kept winning since that three-point loss to Tennessee nearly two months ago, yet can't seem to make up much ground in the AP Top 25.

Coming off dominating wins over West Virginia and Arizona State last week, Houston only moved up one place to No. 7 this week — and that was largely because No. 9 Iowa State dropped seven places after its first two losses.

“They just try to beat you into submission and make you want to quit or be somewhere else,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after his team's 103-73 loss to the Cougars. "The intensity they play with is different than probably anything I’ve played against this year.”

Houston (17-1, 4-0 Big 12) will get another chance to show just how good it is Saturday at No. 12 Texas Tech in what could be one of the best conference games in any league this season.

The Cougars have been to the Final Four twice since 2021, including a trip to last year's national title game, and have another loaded roster that continues to crush the will of opponents.

Houston is second nationally in scoring defense, allowing 60.1 points per game, and is 10th in the KenPom defensive efficiency ratings. The Cougars' 17-game Big 12 winning streak — regular season and conference tournament — is the fourth-longest in league history, three behind Kansas' record set in 2016-17.

Houston will certainly be put to the test against the Red Raiders and preseason All-American JT Topping.

Texas Tech (14-4, 4-1) is 10-0 at home and moved up three places in this week's AP Top 25 after beating Utah and No. 13 BYU. Toppin has lived up to his billing as one of the nation's top players, averaging 21.6 points and 11.2 rebounds, including 4.71 on the offensive glass, second nationally.

No. 15 Vanderbilt matched the best start in program history by winning its first 16 games.

The Commodores' undefeated season came to an abrupt end last week with losses to Texas and No. 16 Florida.

The SEC is loaded again, so another big game is right around the corner: Tuesday at No. 20 Arkansas.

The Razorbacks also are looking for a bounce back after losing two of their past three games, to Auburn and No. 21 Georgia.

Purdue was the preseason No. 1 for the first time in program history, but dropped to No. 6 following a lopsided loss to Iowa State.

Like Houston, the Boilermakers (17-1) have kept winning since their lone loss, moving up to No. 4 in this week's AP Top 25 after improving to 7-0 in the Big Ten following wins over Iowa and USC.

Purdue faces a tough test on Saturday, when it tries to slow No. 11 Illinois.

The Illini (15-3, 6-1) have won seven straight since losing to No. 7 Nebraska and have a balanced team with five players averaging double figures scoring.

Purdue plays UCLA on Tuesday and Illinois faces Maryland Wednesday before their showdown.

No. 14 Virginia has been on a roll in its first season under former VCU coach Ryan Odom.

The Cavaliers (16-2, 5-1 ACC) are a half-game behind Duke and Clemson after winning five straight. Virginia still plays stingy defense, but has some offense to go with it, averaging 84 points per game.

The Cavaliers will face an angry team in No. 22 North Carolina on Tuesday.

The Tar Heels (14-4, 2-3) have lost two of their past three games, including a sweep by the ACC's Bay Area schools last week. Caleb Wilson has been one of the nation's best freshmen, averaging 197. points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

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