Houston's Kelvin Sampson named Big 12 Coach of the Year for second straight season

It has been a special season for Houston men’s basketball, and that was reflected in the Big 12 Conference postseason awards announced on Monday.

Cougars’ head coach Kelvin Sampson was named as the Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second straight season, and two players - LJ Cryer and J’Wan Roberts - received first team All-Big 12 honors. Sophomore Joseph Tugler was also named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Sampson received the Coach of the Year honor after leading the Cougars (27-4) to a 19-1 record in conference play in just the second season of Big 12 play for Houston. It’s the most conference wins in a single season in the history of the program.

After starting the season 4-3, the Cougars have currently won 23 of their last 24 ballgames. Houston also went 10-0 in road games, and have the nation’s longest active road winning streak at 14 straight, a conference record.

Sampson, in his 11th season at Houston, has received 11 Conference Coach of the Year honors from five different leagues.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship tournament field is officially set

Cryer, a graduate guard, is one of two Cougar players to have started all 31 games this season and he leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, and is also the team’s top 3-point shooter, averaging exactly three treys per contest while leading Houston and the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (43.1%). He leads the team with nine 20-point games, including each of the Cougars’ last three games and four of their last five.

In addition, Cryer was selected as the Big 12’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He received his bachelor’s degree in integrated studies from Houston last May and is currently doing post-baccalaureate work in health with a cumulative grade point average that is higher than 3.5.

Roberts, a graduate forward, leads the Cougars in rebounding (6.4 per game) and is third in scoring (11.1). He is the program’s all-time leader in wins (143), conference wins (79) and wins at the Fertitta Center (77).

In Saturday’s win at Baylor, Roberts grabbed the 1,000th rebound of his career, joining legendary centers Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon and Greg Anderson as the only players in program history to score at least 1,000 points and grab at least 1,000 rebounds.

A sophomore forward, Tugler leads Houston and is ranked third in the Big 12 with 2.0 blocked shots per game and also has averaged 5.6 rebounds. He has blocked at least one shot in all but three games, and had eight blocks in an early-season game against Alabama.

Also, junior point guard Milos Uzan was named second-team All-Big 12 and junior shooting guard Emanuel Sharp was named honorable mention. Tugler was named third-team All-Big 12.

Uzan, in his first season at Houston after transferring from Oklahoma, is averaging 10.9 points and leads the league with a 3.19 assist-to-turnover ratio. Sharp is the team’s second-leading scorer (11.8) and also leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage (90.6%).

Houston still on track to get a No. 1 seed at upcoming NCAA tourney

Texas Tech forward JT Toppin was named the league’s Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year, and Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe was selected as the Freshman of the Year. Iowa State’s Curtis Jones was given the Sixth Man Award, and the Most Improved award went to BYU’s Richie Saunders.

Joining Cryer and Roberts on the All-Big 12 first team were Caleb Love (Arizona), Norchad Omier (Baylor), Saunders, Jones, Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Toppin, Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) and Javon Small (West Virginia).

Houston begins tournament play at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City on Thursday with a quarterfinal contest set for 2 p.m.