L.J. Cryer (4) during the first half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game, Monday, March 3, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Four Cougars posted double-figure scoring, including a game-high 22 points by graduate guard L.J. Cryer, as No. 3 Houston men’s basketball concluded the final homestand of the season with a 65-59 senior night win over Kansas.
Houston’s victory set both a program and Big 12 conference single-season record of 18 conference wins, and it marked the third time in the era of Kansas head coach Bill Self that the Jayhawks were swept 2-0 in a regular season series, as Houston beat them 92-86 at Allen Fieldhouse in double overtime in January.
“They’ve made it look easy,” Self said. “It’s not as easy as they’re making it look.”
Winning the turnover battle six to 20 proved instrumental for Houston, allowing them to attempt 68 shots to Kansas’ 42.
Cryer’s 18 first-half points were the primary post of Houston’s scoring to give the Cougars a one-possession halftime lead of 30-27, while the rest of the team began the half 5-for-26 from the floor.
“We don’t have to make shots to win,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We have zero interest in trying to impress somebody with how good we look. At the end of the day, the game is all about winning, not impressing somebody.”
Beginning at 6:36 of the first half, a 10-3 Kansas run, including two 3-pointers by senior guard David Coit, who began 3-for-3 from range, put the Jayhawks in front 25-23.
After the Cougars opened up the second half with their largest lead of the night at 34-27, a 12-2 run gave the Jayhawks, who had leads for no more than a possession the entire game, their final lead of the night at 39-36.
Houston responded with a 21-11 run, including triples from junior guard Milos Uzan and redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp and four points off turnovers from graduate guard Mylik Wilson to match their largest lead of the night at 57-50.
Wilson, who hit a game-tying triple to send Houston to a second overtime in the first matchup with Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 25, capped off his late-game 10-point performance with an emphatic fast-break dunk to put the Cougars up 59-54 with 4:14 remaining.
“It will be really tough for teams who haven’t played them before because you can’t replicate their physicality,” Kansas graduate center Hunter Dickinson said.
With 20 seconds remaining, a triple by Coit trimmed Houston’s lead to 61-59. However, a pair of free throws by Sharp and Cryer sealed the win for the Cougars.
Prior to tip-off, Cryer, Wilson, graduate forward J’Wan Roberts, senior forward Ja’Vier Francis and senior guard Ramon Walker were honored for senior night. Roberts shared an emotional moment with Sampson on the court during the presentation.
“Coach knows how to get the best out of you, and he never lets you have a bad day,” Roberts said. “I feel like that helps me off the court and helps me to become a better man, and so I give a lot of credit to him in my development and me being here.”
Houston is now 26-4 on the season and 18-1 in Big 12 play.
The job is not done just yet. Houston will look to clinch a perfect 10-0 road record on the season as they travel to Waco, Texas, to rematch Baylor at Foster Pavillion on Saturday, March 8, at 9 p.m., to conclude the regular season.
