Arizona basketball entered Saturday with Brayden Burries overcoming an illness to bury BYU. But the leading scorer took a backseat to Anthony Dell'Orso late against No. 2 Houston. The same Dell'Orso who comes off the bench for the Wildcats.
Normally a reserve, Dell'Orso knocked down 22 points off the bench to engineer the 73-66 upset inside the Fertitta Center. Dell'Orso attacked the Cougars in multiple ways — through the fast break and on step back shots.
ANTHONY DELL'ORSO POWERS NO. 4 ARIZONA TO A WIN OVER NO. 2 HOUSTON 🔥
22 PTS off the bench 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MKAnRKwYvO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2026
Dell'Orso averaged just 8.5 points per game heading into the weekend showdown of top five teams. But he also dropped 22 on the BYU Cougars before taking down Houston.
His breakout emergence, though, proves how deep in scoring options head coach Tommy Lloyd is blessed with. And Dell'Orso sparked numerous reactions after his breakout day.
Fan reactions pour in for Arizona's Anthony Dell'Orso after Houston upset
One fan expressed his optimism about the Wildcats moving forward with a red-hot Dell'Orso emerging.
“Anthony Dell'Orso staying hot when Arizona needs it most is exactly the kind of player every big game run is built around. The Australian showing up on the biggest stage and not blinking is a story worth following all the way to March,” the fan posted on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
Even more astonishing for Dell'Orso is this stat line:
Stat of the game: Anthony Dell'Orso 22pts off the bench. Arizona's bench outscored Houston's 22-9. #BearDown
— Grand Canyon State Sports (@GCStateSports) February 21, 2026
It's now the first time this season that Dell'Orso scored consecutive 20-point games this season. But again, this one emerges as the most impressive since it was he, not Burries, who led AZ in scoring.
Furthermore, he catapults Arizona back into the conversation for Big 12's top team.
