KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Milos Uzan had scored a career-high 25 points to lead top-seeded Houston to a 72-64 victory over third-seeded Arizona in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament on Saturday night.
It was the first time in the 29-year history of the Big 12 championship that the final game did not include at least one team from the former Big 8 Conference.
It was the first Big 12 tournament title for Houston. The Cougars have won nine tournament titles overall, with their most recent coming in the American Athletic Conference in 2022.
Houston (30-4) won the regular season with a 19-1 record, claiming the league title by four games over second-place Texas Tech and five games over Arizona.
Houston forward J’Wan Roberts, who is fourth on the team in scoring (10.8 points per game) and first in rebounding (6.8 rpg), watched the game with his right foot in a walking boot. The Cougars got 17 points from Emanuel Sharp, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Arizona (22-12) got 19 points from Caleb Love, 14 from Jaden Bradley and 11 from KJ Lewis.
Houston scored the first six points of the second half to retake the lead at 34-33, and the teams traded blows from there. Neither team was able to take more than a five-point lead until Houston went up 54-46 with 12:12 left.
But as soon as Houston went up by 10 points, Arizona responded, taking a 62-61 lead on Tobe Awaka’s basket with 5:32 left. Uzan then scored all the points on a 5-0 run as the Cougars led 66-62 with 2:33 left.
Love hit two free throws with 1:38 left, cutting it to a one-possession game. Sharp’s 3-pointer was off-target, but Arizona committed a turnover on its next possession. Ja’Vier Francis’ dunk with 43 seconds left put the Cougars back up by four points.
Another Arizona turnover sealed their fate.
The first-half pace fit better for Houston, though Arizona used a 15-2 run to take a 26-21 lead late in the first half. The Wildcats led 33-28 at halftime.
The Wildcats got 14 points from Love. The Cougars were led by Uzan and Sharp, who each tallied eight points in the half.
–David Smale, Field Level Media
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