The Good, Bad and Ugly of No. 3 Houston Cougars’ Win Over Kansas State
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The No. 3 Houston Cougars took on a struggling Kansas State team at home in Fertitta Center and comfortably beat the Wildcats 78-64 on Saturday afternoon. Houston improved to 23-2 on the season and 11-1 in the Big 12, while Kansas State dropped to 10-15 and 1-11 in conference.
This was a much more competitive game than originally thought, given Kansas State is last in the Big 12 and their head coach, Jerome Tang, had harsh words to say coming off a terrible loss earlier in the week. The Wildcats stayed in somewhat striking distance. It shows just how tough every Big 12 game can be.
Here’s the good, bad, and ugly.
Good: Runs to Take Control
Houston was under the pump early and was down nine more than eight minutes into the game. The Cougars then turned things around and went on an extended 27-4 run from that point on to get back in control of the game and go up 33-19 at the half. The main reason why was Houston just getting back to its winning formula of rebounding and defense. Houston’s shots just started falling from senior guard Emanuel Sharp and Uzan, among others, while the Cougars got to the free throw line.
Sharp continued to stay on a heater and was the leading scorer with 23 points and three triples.
Houston came out strong to start the second half with three consecutive quick baskets to go up 20 just like that. Junior forward Joseph Tugler made a layup, followed up by a Flemings pull-up jumper, and Sharp threw down the slam off a turnover that got the crowd hyped.
Senior point guard Milos Uzan came up big in this game when Houston needed another reliable scorer besides Sharp. Typically, it has been Flemings, but it was another off day from him. Uzan added 12 points on 5/11 shooting, but had eight assists and 0 turnovers as an experienced Houston point guard would do.
The freshmen in Flemings and stretch big Chris Cenac Jr. went to work and brought the advantage back up around 16 with five minutes to go in the game when K-State made it relatively close at a 10-point deficit. The guards did well in rebounding as Flemings got seven, Sharp got six, and freshman guard Isiah Harwell also got six. Houston shot 41% from the field compared to 35% for K-State.
Bad: Never Easy in the Big 12
Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings put up 12 points, but struggled from the field going 2/13 (15%). Kansas State was making all its shots early, and did not seem overwhelmed with the occasion.
Houston was just unable to put away Kansas State completely in the second half. The Wildcats brought the lead to just 13 and then further down to just 10. K-State started doing better in rebounding and forced a couple of turnovers. Junior guard PJ Haggerty was the leading scorer for Kansas State entering and put up 23 points. Three players scored double digits for the Wildcats, and some of their runs at the start and the end made this somewhat close.
Ugly: Trailing and Turnovers
Kansas State dominated on the boards early. Houston went down 15-6 to start the game eight minutes in. This was the most Houston has trailed in a home game in quite some time, and that was not expected at all in this one. The crowd was getting frustrated a bit.
The fouls were common on both sides as both teams had over 20. Some calls from the refs were questionable in the first half. Tugler just played two minutes in the first half with two quick fouls and had 14 minutes total.
The turnovers were uncharacteristic for this time of year. Houston understandably had issues with taking care of the ball early in the season, but the turnovers were much higher than usual. Houston had 15 total, which is around 10 more than a typical night. Kansas State took huge advantage and got 26 points off them. That was more than what the Cougars got as UH just got 18 points off 17 K-State turnovers.
Up next, the true gauntlet will start for Houston as the Coogs take on No. 5 Iowa State in Ames on Big Monday.
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.