Uzan scores 25 points, No. 2 Houston ramps up ‘D’ to beat Arizona 72-64 for the Big 12 tourney title

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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…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/uzan-scores-25-points-no-003758682.html

Author : DAVE SKRETTA

Publish date : 2025-03-16 00:37:00

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