Livescore
No. 8 Houston waltzed into historic Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon with zero losses in Big 12 play and waltzed out of Allen Fieldhouse several hours later still with zero losses in Big 12 play after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat not once, but twice in a thrilling, unlikely 92-86 double-overtime win vs. No. 12 Kansas.
The Cougars trailed by six points with 69 seconds remaining in regulation before forcing overtime then trailed again by six points with eight seconds remaining in overtime – both times responding with a flurry of late buckets to force an extra period before finally pulling away in double OT.
The win is Houston’s 17th straight regular season conference win in the Big 12, which is tied for the second-longest streak in Big 12 history, with its last loss coming Feb. 3 last year at Kansas. It improves the Cougars to 15-3 on the season and extends their winning streak to 11 games, tied for the second-longest active streak behind Duke.
To call it anything other than a collapse for Kansas would not be accurate. The first instance came with KU leading 66-62 in regulation as KU failed to get a shot off before the shot clock expired, giving Houston the ball.
Houston scored on the ensuing possession to make it 66-64.
The next KU mistake came moments later as Zeke Mayo failed to inbounds the ball and was whistled for a five-second violation that awarded Houston the ball on its side of the court with 16.6 seconds remaining.
Kansas fouled J’Wan Roberts seconds later – he was 1 of 5 from the free-throw line on the day as he stepped to the charity stripe – and Roberts made both to tie the game at 66. On the ensuing Kansas possession, the Jayhawks committed a turnover and failed to get a shot off. Houston had one last-ditch shot at a buzzer-beater that missed everything and led to another overtime.
[Billy Mays voice] But wait: there’s more!
Kansas was equally as inept at closing it out in the overtime period in coughing up a 79-73 lead. With 18 seconds remaining, Dajuan Harris Jr. missed a pair of free throws that likely would have sealed the game. Houston responded with a big 3-pointer from Emanuel Sharp on the other side of the floor to make it 79-76 with seven seconds remaining.
Then catastrophe struck again. With six seconds remaining, KU’s attempted inbounds was stolen by Milos Uzan. Moments later, Mylik Wilson scored a game-tying 3 that pushed it to a second overtime.
Houston finally went and took it in double overtime by striking first off a Roberts made free throw, and it never trailed again.
“We actually controlled the game for the most part,” KU coach Bill Self said. “We had our best free throw shooters at the line. Then, in addition not being able to get [the ball] in, we had a couple things not go our way. But we’ll bounce back.”
Houston was just as shocked at the outcome and how it happened.
“They were a little bit better than we were tonight, actually,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “But to win the way we won, in double overtime, speaks to this program’s culture, how tough our kids are, and our ability to hang in there.”
The win kept Houston a full game up on Iowa State and Arizona in the Big 12 regular season race and pushed Kansas three games off the pace of the Cougars. The road win helps Houston’s chances of repeating as regular season champs in the Big 12 in just its second year as a member, though it has plenty of tests upcoming, including a road trip Wednesday to West Virginia.
Kansas, meanwhile, falls to 5-3 in Big 12 play for a third consecutive season after dropping two conference games inside Allen Fieldhouse (one to Houston and one on Dec. 31 to West Virginia). It’s the first time since 2017-18 Kansas has lost two conference home games in a single season and second time of the Self era it has suffered two home Big 12 losses.
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