The Good, Bad and Ugly of No. 5 Houston's Big 12 Quarterfinal Win vs BYU
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The No. 5 Houston Cougars faced a halftime deficit to BYU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, but came through in a competitive second half and earned a 73-66 win on Thursday evening in Kansas City.
Houston, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, advanced to the semifinals for the third straight season and improved to 27-5. The BYU Cougars were not a typical No. 10 tournament seed led by star freshman AJ Bybantsa, and Houston needed to be good at the end to come out on top.
Houston shot 45% from the field. Here’s the good, bad, and ugly.
Good: The Freshman
The difference with Houston this year is obviously the two starting freshmen in point guard Kingston Flemings and stretch big Chris Cenac Jr. Both of them showed up and were big factors in this one. Flemings was the leading scorer for Houston for the 19th time this season with 17 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that iced the game.
Flemings was being guarded by two defenders with the shot clock winding down in a 64-61 lead for the Cougars. With 1:27 left, Flemings calmly drained a massive three that made it a 67-61 game. Besides Flemings, Cenac Jr. showed up with 10 points and seven rebounds on 5/6 shooting, with all his shots primarily at the rim.
He had 16 points the last time he faced BYU out in Provo, and Cenac Jr. had success once again. He was crucial in the first half. Redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty also hit another important triple late in the game.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler was effective on the offensive end once again and added 12 points on 5/8 shooting as well as eight rebounds and four assists. Houston was 16/20 (80%) from the free throw line and also did well in rebounding. Houston won the battle on the boards 37-30 and added 19 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. The Coogs only gave up 25 points in the second half.
Bad: Turnovers
Houston has always been one of the best programs at ball security and not turning it over. That was surprisingly not the case at all in this game as UH had 16 turnovers that resulted in 19 BYU points. Houston forced 18 BYU turnovers itself and also got 19 points off them. The 12 steals were a big part of that.
Both the senior guards, Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, struggled for most of the game. Sharp did go 10/10 from the line. Uzan is great at ball security but had four turnovers along with just seven points and going 3/10 from the field. Sharp scored 13 but was 1/9 from the field.
Houston was in control for most of the first half but gave up an 11-2 run and BYU took a 41-37 lead at halftime.
Ugly: Fouls and Sloppiness
Houston was in foul trouble for almost the majority of the game. Two starters had four fouls, Tugler and Flemings. Four players in the starting lineup each picked up two in the first half. Flemings was visibly upset after picking up three, and it affected his game for a bit.
The Cougars had some shot clock violations and were sloppy on offense during stretches. That included some easy misses in the paint.
Up next, Houston will stay in Kansas City and play in the conference semifinals on Friday night.
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.