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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Houston had crowded onto the podium inside T-Mobile Center on Saturday night, and the second-ranked Cougars were beginning to celebrate their Big 12 tournament title, when Emanuel Sharp was handed a championship belt as the tourney MVP.
He raised it high above his head — upside down.
It was just about the only obvious misstep that anyone from Houston made all week.
Milos Uzan poured in 25 points against Arizona in the finale, Sharp added 17 in another brilliant effort, and the Cougars turned up their trademark defense in the final minute to hold on for a 72-64 victory over the Big 12 newcomer.
Playing without injured big man J’Wan Roberts, the Cougars (30-4) took a 64-62 lead on Uzan’s 3-pointer with five minutes to go, then suffocated the Wildcats (22-12) down the stretch to avenge a loss to Iowa State in last year’s title game.
“We did a great job of staying together,” said Sharp, who was joined by Uzan and Big 12 player of the year L.J. Cryer on the all-tournament team. “That’s what coach has been preaching. And that’s why I love this team.”
Houston romped to the regular-season Big 12 title, winning 19 of 20 games in the expanded league. And it was just as dominant in three games in Kansas City, easily beating Colorado and No. 17 BYU before turning back red-hot Arizona for the trophy.
Houston almost certainly locked up a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday and will probably begin its NCAA tournament in Wichita, Kansas.
“We never panic,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “A lot of people around us do, but thank god they’re not coaches and players. We’ve been in these bunkers. We’ve been there when it’s tough. We’ve learned to internalize and almost get independent of everything around us. We get in a bunker and believe in each other and get to work.”
Houston (30-4) secured its fourth straight 30-win season, tying for the second-longest streak in Division I history, according to ESPN research. Gonzaga posted five straight 30-win seasons from 2016-21.
Caleb Love scored 19 points, Jaden Bradley added 14 and KJ Lewis finished with 11 for the Wildcats.
“It was a tough year. A tough conference. And for us to compete with the best of the best, you know, as far as conferences, I’m proud of my guys,” Love said. “I’m just proud we made it this far, and we’ll be ready for March Madness.”
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd had bristled after their quarterfinal win over No. 9 Texas Tech when it was suggested that the title tilt amounted to a showdown of styles: Arizona’s high-scoring offense against Houston’s dominant defense.
“We’re not that bad on defense,” Lloyd countered succinctly.
Turns out the Wildcats are quite good.
They harried and harassed Houston’s guards wherever they went on the floor, twice holding the Cougars without a point for five-minute stretches in the first half. The result was a 33-28 lead in the locker room that felt just a little bit bigger.
Yet there is a reason that Houston is No. 1 nationally in defensive efficiency.
The Cougars were still trailing 40-37 when they clamped down on the Wildcats, turning defense into offense and outscoring them 19-6 over the next five minutes. By the time Uzan curled in a bucket with 11:40 to go, Houston had taken a 56-46 lead — the largest of the entire game for either team.
Arizona gamely fought back to take a 62-61 lead, only for the relentless Cougars to regain the lead seconds later, when Uzan dropped his 3-pointer. He scored again on their ensuing possession, and Houston maintained its lead from there.
The result was its third conference tourney title in five years after the pair it won in the American Athletic Conference.
“Obviously they’ve had a great season, and a great couple of seasons, and Coach Sampson deserves a ton of credit. They got us twice this year,” Lloyd said. “They won the conference by four or five. They won the conference tournament. At this moment they are the kings of the Big 12. I have nothing but respect for them.”
Roberts, who sprained his right ankle in the quarterfinals, went through pregame warmups without the walking boot he wore a day earlier. But he had the boot back on as he watched from the bench in the hopes of playing in the NCAA tournament.
Information from The Associated was used in this report.
