In a historic debut season in the Big 12 conference, the University of Houston Cougars men’s basketball team secured the first of what could be multiple trophies by clinching a share of the Big 12 regular season championship with a victory over the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, 67-59.
The Coogs, ranked No. 1, improved to 27-3 and have the opportunity to claim the title outright by defeating No. 14 Kansas in their season finale on Saturday.
Despite a slow start and trailing for much of the game, Houston rallied in the second half, fueled by a pivotal three-point shot from Jamal Shead and a 7-0 scoring run.
L.J. Cryer, a senior transfer from Baylor’s 2021 National Championship-winning team, led all scorers with 25 points, including five three-pointers. Shead contributed 16 points and eight assists, while J’Wan Roberts added 12 points to the scoreboard.
An injury scare occurred when Ja’vier Francis rolled his ankle early in the second half, but he returned to play and secured eight rebounds, finishing with 10 points.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson’s team faced adversity earlier in the week with the loss of Jojo Tugler for the season due to injury.
Houston concludes its remarkable debut season in the Big 12 with a highly-anticipated matchup against the Jayhawks, airing on ESPN on Saturday at 3 p.m. Following this, the Coogs look ahead to the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship starting on March 12, with the presumptive No. 1 seed likely commencing play on March 14. Fans can catch all tournament games on ESPN platforms.
