
Houston forward Joseph Tugler (11) and guard Mylik Wilson (8) hit the floor to steal the ball from KU center Hunter Dickinson (1) during the second half of an NCAA college Men’s basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in Lawrence, Kansas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
With 18.3 seconds remaining and Kansas up by six, graduate guard Dajuan Harris Jr. missed two crucial free throws. The second miss fell into the hands of sophomore forward Joseph Tugler, who quickly found junior guard Milos Uzan in transition. On the other end, Uzan kicked it out to a hobbled redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp, who drained his first bucket.
Houston desperately needed the ball and a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds remaining. At that moment, ESPN gave Kansas a 95.6% chance of winning.
The Jayhawks called a timeout, that gave the Cougars a chance to devise their defense for junior guard Rylan Griffin’s inbound attempt. Coach Kelvin Sampson had a clear plan in mind, centered around the towering presence of Tugler.
As Griffin fluttered along the baseline, Tugler’s 7-foot-4 wingspan loomed above, cutting off all upward passing lanes. Griffin was desperate for an opening, but Tugler mirrored his every move.
“JoJo is like a big old bull that’s snorting at you, stomping his hooves and whipping his tail around,” Sampson said. “He’s a factor.”
That defensive factor proved crucial when graduate center Hunter Dickinson emerged as the intended target for Griffin’s pass. But as the ball neared Dickinson, Uzan tipped it, sending the pass directly into graduate guard Mylik Wilson’s hands. Wilson sank a three-pointer to send the game into double overtime.
“That’s like a gut punch,” Dickinson said.
Sampson compared Tugler’s defense to a football pass rush: “There are some kids, it’s like a quarterback. When the defensive ends get on top of him, he stops looking at his receivers and starts looking at the defensive players. And it makes your press a little bit better.”
That comparison rang true throughout the game as Tugler swung and slid to disrupt the Jayhawks’ offense. He led the charge defensively, accounting for all five blocks and grabbing five defensive rebounds.
“Our defense got us back in it,” Sampson said.
But it wasn’t just his defensive contributions that counted, his offensive presence also played a pivotal role.
Just before the midway point in the first half, he slammed two dunks through the hoop to begin and end an eight-point run for the Cougars, which gave Houston its first lead since nearly three minutes into the contest. It was a critical contribution, as the usual scoring threats of, redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp and graduate guard L.J. Cryer, went a combined 0-for-8 from the field in the opening frame.
He finished the night 4-4 from the field with nine points and seven rebounds.
Last February when the Cougars got introduced to Allen FieldHouse, Tugler, a freshman at the time entered off the bench to play 33 minutes in the bright lights. Despite Houston’s loss, he was getting experience for the big moments coming in the impending months.
Later that month, he suffered a season-ending foot injury during practice that prevented him from competing in any more crucial moments for the Cougars.
This year, Tugler returned to Lawrence as a regular starter for Houston and tied eighth in the nation for total blocks with 47.
“Last year, in the month of March, I knew what we were missing,” Sampson said.
That missing piece was Tugler’s dominant presence. A bull ready to charge through any challenge, to keep Houston’s hopes alive.