Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images Pac-12 Player of the Year Bennedict Mathurin looks to lead Arizona past Houston and into the Elite 8 on Thursday.
The top-seeded Arizona Wildcats and the fifth-seeded Houston Cougars face-off in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The game (9:59 p.m. ET) will be televised on TBS. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Arizona vs Houston online:
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DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” TBS is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Arizona vs Houston live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
You can also watch the game live on the March Madness app or on the NCAA website. You’ll need to sign in to a cable or streaming service provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your DirecTV Stream credentials.
Sling TV
TNT is included in Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” bundle, which comes with a free three-day trial:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Arizona vs Houston live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch the game live on the March Madness app or on the NCAA website. You’ll need to sign in to a cable or streaming service provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your Sling credentials.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of TBS and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which now also includes both ESPN+ and Disney+ as part of their bundle:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Arizona vs Houston live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch the game live on the March Madness app or on the NCAA website. You’ll need to sign in to a cable or streaming service provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your Hulu credentials.
Arizona vs Houston Preview
Two of the hottest teams in the nation meet in a South Regional Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday night when the Arizona Wildcats take on the Houston Cougars in San Antonio.
The Pac-12 tournament champion Wildcats have won eight straight and 17 of its last 18 games en route to making their 19th Sweet 16 appearance. The American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion Cougars have won five in a row and 11 of its last 12 to advance to their third straight Sweet 16.
Here’s a look at the breakdown for each team as they head into Thursday’s third round matchup:
No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (33-3, 18-2 Pac-12)
Top-seeded Arizona survived an overtime thriller in the second round last Sunday night, when they got past a valiant TCU squad, 85-80.
Sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin came through in the clutch and saved the Wildcats’ season with a game-tying three-point shot with 14 seconds remaining in regulation. The Pac-12 Player of the Year went on to score six points in overtime and tallied 30 for the game with eight rebounds.
“Ben’s not afraid of the moment. He’s a special player who has an ability to rise up another level when needed. He has that clutch gene,” said Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd. “I honestly felt really good when he had the ball in hands there. I knew he was going to shoot a 3. Right when he snapped that 3 off to tie it, it was pretty impressive.”
Arizona junior Christian Koloko was a force down low in the win over TCU. The 7-foot-1 center scored 28 points on 12 of 13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
“I mean, it was simple, it was win or go home,” Koloko said. “That’s not the first time we were down. We knew we had to keep playing our game. Coach trusted us and told us, you’ve got to hang in there. That’s what we did. We didn’t panic. We played our game and we came back.”
Arizona ranks third in the nation in both scoring offense (84.6 points per game) and field goal percentage (49.6 percent).
No. 5 Houston Cougars (31-5, 15-3 AAC)
Houston took down UAB and Illinois on the road to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.
The Cougars’ trio of guards (senior Kyler Edwards, sophomore Jamal Shead, and graduate student Taze Moore) have led the way over the first two rounds, combining for 100 points, 28 rebounds, 24 assists, and 10 steals.
“It’s our heart,” Shead said regarding the team’s toughness. “We don’t want to lose. We want to win for each other. We love each other so much, these guys are like my brothers, you know, it goes way beyond basketball.
“We want to keep it going as long as we possibly can.”
Houston possesses one of the top defensive units in the nation, allowing only 59.0 points per game, which ranks second in the nation.
The Cougars have shown resilience and moxie this year, as they had to overcome losing their two best players to season-ending injuries. But here they are still alive in the Big Dance after the smoke cleared following a chaotic first week, looking to make a return trip to the Final Four.
“We got a brand-new bunch,” said Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson. “But the culture never changes. Because they’re great kids and they’re high-character kids, they buy-in. It’s never about them. Our program is always about we and us, and that’s what happens when you have great kids.”