INDIANAPOLIS — Houston frolicked this week training an inbound play that coach Kelvin Sampson thought his group may want towards Purdue.
Milos Uzan, the third possibility, ran it to perfection.
He tossed the ball to Joseph Tugler, who threw a bounce cross proper again to Uzan, and the 6-foot-4 guard soared to the rim for an uncontested layup with 0.9 seconds left, giving the top-seeded Cougars a 62-60 victory — and a matchup with second-seeded Tennessee in Sunday’s Elite Eight.
“Great execution at a time we needed that,” stated Sampson, who’s a win away from making his third Closing 4 and his second with Houston in 5 years. “You never know when you’re going to need it.”
The Cougars (33-4) made just one different basket over the ultimate eight minutes, wasted a 10-point lead after which missed two extra pictures within the remaining 5 seconds.
A replay evaluation with 2.2 seconds left confirmed Houston would maintain the ball when it rolled out of bounds after the second miss.
Uzan took over from there.
“I was trying to hit (L.J. Cryer) and then JoJo just made a great read,” Uzan stated. “He was able to draw two (defenders) and he just made a great play to hit me back.”
Houston superior to the Elite Eight for the third time in 5 years after falling within the Candy 16 as a high seed within the earlier two editions of March Insanity.
It should take the nation’s longest successful streak, 16 video games, into Sunday’s Midwest Area remaining.
The Cougars joined the opposite three No. 1 seeds on this 12 months’s Elite Eight and did it at Lucas Oil Stadium, the place their 2021 tourney run ended with a loss within the Closing 4 to eventual nationwide champion Baylor.
They haven’t misplaced since Feb. 1.
Uzan scored 22 factors and Emanuel Sharp had 17 as Houston survived an off evening from main scorer Cryer, who completed with 5 factors on 2-of-13 taking pictures.
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Houston nonetheless needed to sweat out a half-court heave on the buzzer, however Braden Smith’s shot was effectively off the mark.
Fletcher Loyer scored 16 factors, Trey Kaufman-Renn had 14 and Smith, the Large Ten participant of the 12 months, added seven factors and 15 assists for fourth-seeded Purdue (24-12).
Smith assisted on all 11 second-half baskets for final 12 months’s nationwide runner-up, which performed in entrance of a pleasant crowd about an hour’s drive from its campus in West Lafayette.
“I thought we fought really hard and we dug down defensively to get those stops to come back,” Smith stated. “We did everything we could and we just had a little miscommunication at the end and they converted. Props to them.”
Houston appeared on the verge of catastrophe when Kaufman-Renn scored on a dunk after which blocked Cryer’s shot with 1:17 to go, resulting in Camden Heide’s 3 that tied the rating at 60 with 35 seconds left.
Sampson known as timeout to arrange the ultimate play, however Uzan missed a turnaround jumper and Tugler’s tip-in rolled off the rim and out of bounds. The Cougars acquired yet another probability after the replay evaluation.
Sharp’s scoring flurry early within the second half lastly gave Houston some separation after a back-and-forth first half.
His 3-pointer on the 16:14 mark made it 40-32.
After Purdue trimmed the deficit to 4, Uzan made two 3s to present Houston a 10-point lead in a troublesome, bodily sport that arrange a uncommon dramatic end on this 12 months’s tourney.
“Smith was guarding the inbounder, so he had to take JoJo,” Sampson stated. “That means there was no one there to take Milos. That’s why you work on that stuff day after day.”
Takeaways
Purdue: Coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers stumbled into March Insanity with six losses of their remaining 9 video games however proved themselves a worthy competitor by preventing their means into the Candy 16 and almost taking down a No. 1 seed.
Houston: The Cougars lead the nation in 3-point share and scoring protection, an enviable mixture.
Scary fall
Houston guard Mylik Wilson gave the Cougars a short scare with 13:23 left within the sport. He leapt excessive into the air to seize a rebound and drew a foul on Kaufman-Renn.
Because the play continued, Wilson was undercut and his physique twisted round earlier than he landed on his head. Wilson stayed down momentarily, rubbing his head, however finally acquired up and remained within the sport.
