No. 5 Houston outlasted No. 12 Kansas in double overtime 92-86 at Allen Fieldhouse in a Saturday game that was close throughout its 50 minutes of play.
The Cougars’ Mylik Wilson hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first overtime to tie the score 79-79 and force a second extra period. Houston’s Milos Uzan tipped Zeke Mayo‘s inbounds pass under the basket and Wilson caught the deflection. The senior then stepped behind the arc for his game-tying shot.
Kansas inbounded the ball after Houston’s Emanuel Sharp hit a 3 to make the score 79-76 with eight seconds left. Prior to that, the Jayhawks appeared to have clinched the game when Rylan Griffen hit a 3 with 55 seconds remaining to give Kansas a four-point lead. Griffen added two free throws with 28 seconds left for a 79-73 margin.
Dajuan Harris Jr. then missed two free throws that could have opened up an eight-point lead for the Jayhawks. The misses set up Sharp’s 3-pointer and Uzan’s fateful steal.
In the second overtime period, Houston continued knocking down 3-pointers. Sharp and Uzan hit consecutive 3s to help the Cougars open up a five-point lead that they held onto despite Mayo scoring five points to keep Kansas within reach.
Sharp and Uzan each hit two free throws to ultimately put the game away.
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The biggest lead Kansas built was nine points as the second half opened. But Houston rallied to take a 48-42 lead. The Jayhawks fought back to go on top 58-52 before the Cougars chipped away until the end of regulation.
J’Wan Roberts scored a game-high 24 points with nine rebounds and five assists for Houston, who improved to 16-3 overall and 8-0 in the Big 12. Wilson followed with 18 points, shooting 2-of-3 on 3s and hitting the game’s most important shot. Uzan added 17 points with nine assists, while Sharp tallied eight in his late-game heroics.
With the loss, Kansas dropped to 14-5 and 5-3, good for fourth place in the Big 12. Flory Bidunga led the Jayhawks with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Hunter Dickinson scored 17 with eight boards. Mayo added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Harris dished out 12 assists. His two missed free throws arguably cost Kansas the ballgame.
Houston next travels to No. 23 West Virginia (13-6) on Wednesday, while Kansas attempts to bounce back against UCF (13-6) in a Tuesday matchup.