KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The menu Thursday night consisted of another Cougar Special.
Houston's Kingston Flemings, left, grabs a rebound as BYU's Kennard Davis Jr. watches during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
You know the ingredients: Grind-it-out and physical. A big shot (or two) at just the right moment.
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And a huge helping of defense.
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Houston 73, BYU 66.
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“The name of the game this time of the year is to win,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We’re 27-5. That means we have a pretty good team.”
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UH (27-5), the defending tournament champion and No. 2 seed, advanced to play No. 4 Kansas — a 78-73 winner over sixth-seeded TCU — in Friday’s semifinals at T-Mobile Center.
“That’s the goal, we came here to win it all,” senior point guard Milos Uzan said. “That would give us great momentum going into the tournament.”
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UH was forced to overcome some of the usual culprits in its tournament opener.
Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp picked up third fouls in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cougars matched their season average with nine turnovers in the first half and finished with 16. BYU freshman phenom A.J. Dybantsa continued his record-setting run with a game-high 26 points.
And the Big 12’s LED glass court looked like a Slip and Slide, as players from both teams struggled to find their footing.
“I feel we still haven’t (put together a complete game),” Uzan said. “That first half we were playing versus them and us, especially silly fouls and a lot of undisciplined plays. I think it’s coming. I think we’ll continue to get better because we all want to win. It’s coming.”
There were signs in the second half.
UH cut down on fouls and turnovers. The Cougars clamped down defensively on Dybantsa, forcing him to drive and take tough shots. Teammates praised reserve forward Chase McCarty’s defense on the potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick.
“It’s almost like building a wall,” Sampson said. “That’s why he didn’t get anything easy. Our defense was great in the second half. Our defense was pretty good in the first half. The problem was we kept fouling.”
Dybantsa, the nation’s leading scorer, finished with 93 points in three games to break Kevin Durant’s record of 92, set in the 2007 tournament. But nothing came easy as Dybantsa was 3-of-10 shooting in the second half, finally getting the record on a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left.
“He’s a load. He’s a handful,” Sampson said. “I’ve coached against all the greats. He’s only going to get better and better and better. He’s a unique combination of length and can shoot. I’d say at this point he’s a poor man’s Kevin Durant. That’s who he reminds he of. But I thought our guys did an awesome job on him, especially in the second half.”
With three minutes left and UH clinging to a one-possession lead, Sampson drew up a play during a timeout. He noticed BYU was sticking “a beat longer” on Flemings. That allowed McCarty to get free on the pick-and-pop from beyond the 3-point arc.
McCarty drilled a 3-pointer for a 64-58 lead.
“It was the right play call, at the right time, for the right player,” Sampson said. “Chase can get that shot. We all have stuff in our back pocket for moments like that. Great execution. Chase stepped up and made it.”
Then Flemings followed with the final dagger — another 3-pointer for a 67-61 lead with 1:27 left. Flemings, UH’s freshman point guard who is a projected top-5 draft pick, finished with a team-high 17 points.
“Kingston doesn’t feel pressure,” Sampson said. “I don’t think Chase does either.”
UH 73, BYU 66
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYU | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Dybantsa | 40 | 7-18 | 9-10 | 0-5 | 2 | 2 | 26 |
| Keita | 27 | 3-5 | 2-2 | 7-13 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Davis | 39 | 1-8 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Kostic | 11 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Wright | 38 | 5-12 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| Mboup | 16 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Diomande | 14 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ahmed | 13 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Boskovic | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 21-51 | 16-19 | 8-29 | 8 | 20 | 66 |
Percentages: FG .412, FT .842.
3-Point Goals: 8-17, .471 (Dybantsa 3-5, Kostic 3-5, Wright 2-2, Davis 0-5).
Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: 4 (Keita 2, Davis, Diomande).
Turnovers: 17 (Dybantsa 5, Wright 5, Kostic 3, Mboup 2, Davis, Diomande).
Steals: 6 (Diomande 3, Davis, Keita, Wright).
Technical Fouls: None.
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOUSTON | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Tugler | 28 | 5-8 | 2-3 | 5-8 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Cenac | 28 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 2-7 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Flemings | 27 | 7-15 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| Sharp | 31 | 1-9 | 10-10 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Uzan | 35 | 3-10 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| McCarty | 23 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Miller | 14 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Sakho | 12 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Harwell | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 26-58 | 16-20 | 13-36 | 11 | 17 | 73 |
Percentages: FG .448, FT .800.
3-Point Goals: 5-17, .294 (Flemings 2-3, McCarty 1-3, Uzan 1-4, Sharp 1-6, Miller 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 2.
Blocked Shots: 5 (Tugler 2, Uzan 2, Sakho).
Turnovers: 14 (Tugler 4, Uzan 4, Cenac 2, Flemings 2, Miller, Sharp).
Steals: 12 (Tugler 4, Uzan 4, Flemings 2, Cenac, McCarty).
Technical Fouls: None.
| BYU | 41 | 25 | — | 66 |
| Houston | 37 | 36 | — | 73 |
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BYU led by as many as seven points in the first half behind Dybantsa and Robert Wright III, who combined for 28 of the Cougars' first 31 points. Three different players scored the final 11 points before halftime, including consecutive 3-pointers by Aleksej Kostić, for a 41-37 lead.
In the final 11-plus minutes of the game, BYU (23-11) missed 16 of 19 shots as the Cougars pulled away.
“We were able to get some stops down the stretch,” Uzan said. “I feel like all of us really have a want to win. I think when it’s winning time, we do a god job helping each other and finding a way.”
Sharp had 13 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and Joseph Tugler added 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Chris Cenac Jr. finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.
Uzan said the Cougars want to carry momentum into the NCAA Tournament.
“I think we are at a high right now,” he said.
