Houston Cougars center Kalifa Sakho (14) dunks the ball against the BYU Cougars during the second half of the Big 12 Quarterfinals on Thursday Mar. 12, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Houston basketball finished its last game in Oklahoma City for the March Madness tournament after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 88-57, securing a spot in the Sweet 16.
After cruising past the Idaho Vandals in the first round of the tournament and securing their win against A&M, the Cougars will return to the Toyota Center in Houston to complete their games in the south bracket.
A&M was selected to be Houston’s opponent in the round of 32, as they had recently beaten Saint Mary’s Gaels 63-50. Despite their previous score, Aggies looked wildly unprepared against Houston as turnovers and poor defense allowed the Cougars to score double digits and destroy any momentum A&M had.
Game recap
Throughout the beginning of the game, things were very close between both teams. A&M’s offense looked electric in the first five minutes of the game, even having a four-point lead over Houston. It seemed that Houston had finally met their match, and that it was going to be a very close game.
However, Houston senior guard Emanuel Sharp quickly took the lead again for the Cougars with multiple points being scored. A&M also turned over the ball seven times, allowing Houston to have several chances to score more points.
This led to an 18-point gap heading into halftime, as Houston remained on top with Sharp and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr as the top scorers for the team. A&M looked discouraged, but exited the locker room with the mission to take back the lead regardless of the point gap.
Entering the second half, Houston went on a seven-point run that widened the point gap even further for the Aggies. Eventually, the game became unwinnable for A&M as multiple shots from senior guard Milos Uzan and sophomore guard Mercy Miller added to Houston’s domination.
At the end of it all, Houston secured their ticket back home after defeating the Aggies 88-57. Houston now heads into the next stage of the March Madness tournament hungry to make it back to the final four.
What happens next?
Despite their performance in the Tournament, Texas A&M had a really positive season this past year under first-year Head Coach Bucky McMillan.
They went 11-7 in conference play and finished their season with a 22-12 total record, making the tournament but failing to make it past the second round for the past three years.
“We had a great season you know. I’m thankful that coach allowed me to come here and play for him,” said A&M senior forward Rashan Agee. “We made the tournament his first year and we beat a lot of good teams this year and I’m really just super thankful to be in this situation.”
Houston looks onward to face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Toyota Center, hoping to make the elite eight.
Illinois recently played the VCU Rams, where the Illini would win 76-55. Overall, Houston seems to be heading into the roughest part of the tournament prepared for what’s next as March Madness reaches its second and most explosive phase.
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