Purdue Loses Last-Second Heartbreaker to Houston in Regional Semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — So close, yet so ... over.

No. 4 seed Purdue made a dramatic comeback in the final minutes on Friday night to reel in top-seed Houston, but Cougars guard Milos Uzan scored on an inbounds play with 0.8 seconds to go to give them a stunning 62-60 win over Purdue in the Midwest Regional semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Purdue finishes the season 24-12, and it's just the second time in 10 years that they've lost 12 or more games in a season. (They went 16-15 in the 2020 COVID season.)

Houston is now 33-4 and has won 16 straight games and 29 of its last 30 outings. The Cougars, who were 8.5-point favorites coming in, got all they could handle from the Boilermakers, but they pulled int out to advance to Sunday's regional final against No. 2 seed Tennessee, who beat Kentucky earlier in the evening.

Purdue is now 0-9 all-time against NCAA tournament No.1 seeds.

NO WAY 🤯

HOUSTON TAKES THE LEAD IN THE FINAL SECOND 😱 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/L2wCPQ34gD
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2025

The defenses from both teams dominated this game, as expected. And it was no surprise it came down to one final play to decide the outcome.

Purdue hung around for much of the first half despite not being able to convert from deep. They were just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc to start the game until junior guard Fletcher Loyer tied the game at 16-16 with 8:19 left in the half. Loyer hit the earlier three as well, and had 12 of Purdue's first 16 points.

Houston gave Purdue fits on the glass, grabbing nine offensive rebounds in the first half that led to nine second-chance points. Houston's Milos Uzan, a junior guard from Las Vegas, also kept the Cougars in the game with four three-pointers and had 12 of their 29 first-half points.

He and Emanuel Sharp hit consecutive threes to give Houston a 29-26 lead, but Braden Smith answered with a three and then hit two free throws at 0.3 seconds to give the Boilers a 31-29 lead at the break.

Only four Boilers scored in the first half. After Loyer's 12, Smith and C.J. Cox, who wasn't playing like a freshman, each had seven and Trey Kaufman-Renn had five. Purdue's defense answered Houston blow-for-blow, holding the Cougars to 32.3 percent shooting in the first half.

Houston got off to a quick start in the second half, going on a 11-1 run before Cam Heidi ended it with a three to make it 38-35 Houston at the 15:40 mark.

Houston jumped ahead 48-41 at the 11:31 mark, the largest lead of the game for either team at the time, and then it grew to 10 a minute later when Uzan got free and hit another three, his sixth of the night. Painter called timeout.

And then the Purdue comeback started.

Cam Heide hit a three, Purdue made a stop, and then Kaufman-Renn hit two free throws when Houston center Joseph Tugler picked up his fourth foul to make it 57-55 with 4:18 to go. LJ Cryer hit a three for Houston to make it 60-55.

Purdue got a stop a minute later, and Painter called timeout with 2:32 to go to get Kaufman-Renn and Loyer back in for an offensive possession. Purdue ran a perfect after-timeout play, and Kaufman-Renn scored on a dunk.

They got another stop, but Heide misses a three. Houston missed again, and this time Heide hit from the corner off a great cross-court pass from Smith — his 15th assist — to tie it 60-60 as the shot clock expired. Houston called timeout with 29 seconds to go.

Houston ran the clock down, and Uzan tried a runner in the lane, but he missed. Tugler grabbed another offensive rebound — Houston's 16th — but he missed, too. The ball went out of bounds, and Houston retained possession with 2.8 seconds to go.

The Cougars inbounded underneath their basket, and Uzan inbounded to ball to Tugler, who immediately passed it back to him and he scored easily with 0.8 seconds to go on Purdue's defensive breakdown. Purdue inbounded, but Smith missed a half-court shot at the buzzer.

Loyer led the Boilermakers with 16 points, and Kaufman-Renn had 14, the only two Boilers in double figures. Heide had nine points, and Smith, C.J. Cox and Myles Colvin all had seven.

Uzan led Houston with 22 points, and Sharp had 11.

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