A Late-Season X-Factor is Emerging for the Houston Cougars
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Typically for Houston Cougars basketball this season, you’d see either Kingston Flemings, Milos Uzan, or Emanuel Sharp as the leading scorer in a game. That makes sense given that the two senior guards are the leaders of the team and have been reliable scorers going back to the national championship game team last season.
The freshman point guard in Flemings has been the leading scorer this season for Houston overall and in 18 games so far. He also has 11 20+ point games this season. However, against Oklahoma State, another player was the hero on offense for the Cougars.
It was redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty who came up clutch for Houston on the road in Norman. Every away game in the Big 12 is a battle, and it was not easy for the Cougars against a competitive Oklahoma State team that was 18-12 coming in and celebrating its senior night.
Houston needed someone to give a boost, and it was McCarty’s special day.
Houston’s Young Talent Continues to Shine
McCarty scored a game-high 20 points on 7/10 shooting along with four rebounds in 22 minutes. The key part of his career-high day was his elite 3-point shooting. McCarty went 6/9 from downtown and knocked in half of Houston’s triples on the day.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound forward mentioned with a smile that he was unsure what got him going.
“I just trusted my ability to make shots, and my point guards found me in the corner,” McCarty said postgame.
He was the reason why Houston was 12/28 (43%) from beyond the arc against Oklahoma State. 14 of his points were in the second half. The Cougars were trailing for 27 out of the 40 minutes played, but the game changed in the last 10 minutes.
McCarty was the difference. What a time it was for his first career 20-point game. He gave Houston its first lead in the second half, and followed it up with one big-time three after another. McCarty drilled two 3-pointers that got the lead up to 73-64 with 4:27 left.
Oklahoma State came storming back, and were down 74-73 with 1:50 left. After Sharp hit the clutch go-ahead three, McCarty followed it up with the dagger that iced the game. He hit a pull-up three off a turnover that made it an 80-73 game with just 36 seconds left.
“Chase has probably been our most improved player at both ends. I have to get on him on defense. He’s not going to get confused with Tony Allen anytime soon, but he’s getting better,” coach Kelvin Sampson said postgame.
The Cougars need contributions from their bench to go far in March, and McCarty has turned into a sixth man for them. There were question marks entering the season on what it would look like. This was McCarty’s first year playing college basketball. Houston has now scored 29 points off the bench in 2 out of the last three games.
He scored 10 points against Colorado and his previous season high was 15 against New Orleans back in December. It took plenty of growth and confidence to get to this point.
“Like most freshmen, he was just okay early, but he hadn’t found his niche, hadn’t found a role coming off the bench. As typical with our kids, they just hang in there and if you keep showing up every day with the right attitude and giving the right effort, you’ll usually get better,” Sampson said.
Houston is 3-0 when McCarty scores at least 10 points. His teammates have been right by his side every time and he now came through with a game-winning performance.
“It means a lot just to see the excitement of those guys when I’m hitting big shots or making plays,” McCarty said. “They’re team players and that just shows our camaraderie and our brotherhood.”
McCarty was a highly touted four-star recruit out of the IMG Academy in the class of 2024 and was ranked No. 73 nationally by 247Sports. He won a 3-point shooting championship during his senior season. The Madison, Alabama native is currently averaging 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 41% overall and 35% from three.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.