Guards Mylik Wilson (8) and Milos Uzan (7) high five during an NCAA college men’s basketball game. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Lauded for being road warriors, No. 5 Houston men’s basketball entered Desert Financial Arena on Tuesday as the only team in the nation without a loss in a true road game this season.
The Cougars finished beating Arizona State to the tune of an 80-65 victory, their moniker had a new record attached to it.
Houston’s win gave them 12 consecutive road wins, eclipsing a Big 12 previously held for 22 years by the Kansas Jayhawks, cementing the program’s resilience away from home just two years into their Big 12 tenure.
“Unbelievable, unbelievable accomplishment,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “That’s something that people will remember this program for.”
Houston’s second leg of their Arizona two-step also saw graduate forward J’Wan Roberts climb up to fourth on the program’s all-time total rebounds list, surpassing Rickie Winslow with his six-rebound performance.
Graduate guard L.J. Cryer scored a team-high 18 points alongside four triples, while graduate guard Mylik Wilson spearheaded Houston’s bench unit with 12 points.
Junior guard Milos Uzan had another five-assist outing, giving him 27 assists to just two turnovers in his last five games.
It wasn’t smooth sailing to the finish line, as a pair of deep three-point jumpers from senior guard Alston Mason trimmed Houston’s lead to 76-62 with 2:12 left in the game, forcing Sampson to bring the starters back on the floor.
Houston led by as much as 23 in the period, largely due to a reawakening from redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp, who had drained four 3-pointers by the 6:16 mark of the second period.
Sharp, who was coming off his first scoreless performance of the season, finished the night with 17 points on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
After only recording three offensive rebounds in their cross-state matchup against then-ranked No. 13 Arizona this past Saturday, the Cougars past that total in less than ten minutes against the Sun Devils and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds.
Arizona State’s guard play from Mason, and senior guard BJ Freeman kept them in the game midway through the first half.
However, an 11-2 run by the Cougars, highlighted by a stepback triple from Cryer, ballooned their lead to 36-22 with 5:06 left in the first half.
A pair of jumpers from Freeman and senior forward Jihad Basheer got Arizona State back within 10, but the Cougars retaliated with an 11-6 run to lead 47-31 at halftime.
Houston’s reserves made their presence known throughout the game, outscoring Arizona State’s bench 22-11.
The Cougars improved upon their conference-leading 39.1% 3-point percentage, after shooting 48% against the Sun Devils on 11-23 from three.
With the win, Houston boasts a 22-4 record and is 14-1 in conference play.
Houston will travel home to host No. 8 Iowa State at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 with ESPN’s College GameDay in Houston.
