Brayden Burries scores 21 as No. 2 Arizona survives No. 5 Houston 79-74 in Big 12 final rematch

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 ...