Uzan scores 25 points, No. 2 Houston ramps up 'D' to beat Arizona 72-64 for the Big 12 tourney title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Milos Uzan poured in 25 points, Emanuel Sharpe added 17 and second-ranked Houston turned up its trademark defense in the final minute to hold on for a 72-64 victory over Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament championship game Saturday night.
Playing without injured big man J'Wan Roberts, the Cougars (30-4) took a 64-62 lead on Uzan's 3-pointer with 5 minutes to go, then suffocated the Wildcats (22-12) down the stretch to avenge a loss to Iowa State in last year's title game.
“We did a great job of staying together,” Sharpe said. “That's what coach has been preaching. And that's why I love this team.”
Houston romped to the regular-season Big 12 title, winning 19 of 20 games in the expanded league. And it was just as dominant in three game in Kansas City, easily beating Colorado and No. 17 BYU before turning back red-hot Arizona for the trophy.
“We never panic,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I notice a lot of people around us do, but thank God they're not coaches and players. We've been in these bunkers. We've been there when it's tough. We've learned to internalize and almost get independent of everything around us. We get in a bunker and believe in each other and get to work.”
Caleb Love scored 19 points for the Wildcats. Jaden Bradley had 14 points and KJ Lewis finished with 11.
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd had bristled after their quarterfinal win over No. 9 Texas Tech when it was suggested that the title tilt amounted to a showdown of styles: Arizona's high-flying, high-scoring offense against Houston's dominant defense.
“We’re not that bad on defense,” Lloyd said succinctly.
Turns out the Wildcats are quite good.
They harried and harrassed Houston's guards wherever they went on the floor, twice holding the Cougars without a point for 5-minute stretches in the first half. The result was a 33-28 lead in the locker room that felt just a little bit bigger.
Yet there is a reason that Houston is No. 1 nationally in defensive efficiency.
The Cougars were still trailing 40-37 when they clamped down on the Wildcats, turning defense into offense and outscoring them 19-6 over the next five minutes. By the time Uzan curled in a bucket with 11:40 to go, Houston had taken a 56-46 lead — the largest of the game for either team at that point.
Arizona gamely fought back to take a 62-61 lead, only for the relentless Cougars to regain the lead seconds later, when Uzan dropped his 3-pointer. He scored again on their ensuing possession, and Houston maintained its lead from there.
The result was its third conference tourney title in five years after the pair it won in the American Athletic Conference.
Injury UpdateRoberts, who sprained his right ankle in the quarterfinals, went through pregame warmups without the walking boot he wore a day earlier. But he had the boot back on as he watched from the bench in the hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA ImplicationsHouston almost certainly locked up a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday and will probably begin its NCAA Tournament in Wichita, Kansas. Most expect the Wildcats to land a No. 4 seed after their run to the conference championship game.
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