Jarace Walker lands in Top 10, Marcus Sasser goes 25th in 2023 NBA Draft
The Houston Cougars have had one of their most successful draft nights of all time, landing two of their star players in the top 25 picks of the 2023 NBA Draft. Freshman Jarace Walker will end up in Indiana on the Pacers, going 8th overall as part of a draft day trade.
Tale of the tape: Keys for UH, Oregon State for their Elite Eight matchup
The Houston Cougars are into the Elite 8, making history Saturday with a 62-46 thrashing of 11th-seed Syracuse. The Cougars are favorites to advance, but this Oregon State team wonโt be easy to knock off. Keys for the CougarsDefense is the name of the game for the University of Houston and theyโll need another stellar effort Monday night. UH has the best defensive field-goal percentage in the nation and has held opponents to just under 60 points per game. Ethan Thompson (15 ppg) has dominated on both ends and his physical play will be tested when he faces UH.
Grimes helps No. 2 seed Houston rally past Rutgers, 63-60
The Cougars play No. By the time the first half ended, and the Scarlet Knights had forged a 30-27 lead, Rutgers and Houston each had two regulars mired in foul trouble. AdChaney took a seat with his fourth with 15:45 left and the Scarlet Knights went on the attack. And by the time there was 10 minutes to go, the Scarlet Knights had meticulously built a 50-40 lead. UP NEXTThe Cougars play the Orange next weekend for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Houston beats Cleveland State 87-56 as Sampson ties Wooden
(AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)(AP) โ Quentin Grimes scored 18 points and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson tied John Wooden on the career victories list as the Cougars beat 15th-seeded Cleveland State 87-56 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. 2 seed Houston has won eight straight and will face seventh-seeded Clemson or 10th-seeded Rutgers in the Midwest Region's second round on Sunday. AdD'Moi Hodge scored 11 points and Torrey Patton had eight points and eight rebounds for the Vikings (19-9). Cleveland State had won at least one game in each of its two previous tourney appearances, beating Indiana (1986) and Wake Forest (2009). โThatโs a one seed, I'm telling you,โ Vikings coach Dennis Gates said.
GALLERY: No. 7 Houston takes AAC tourney with 91-54 win over Cincy
7 Houston beat Cincinnati 91-54 on Sunday in the third consecutive American Athletic Conference tournament championship game between the two teams. AdThe Bearcats had won the previous two AAC title game matchups before last yearโs tournaments were canceled because of COVID-19 after Houston had won its second consecutive AAC regular-season title. This was the most lopsided AAC tournament final game, surpassing SMU's 15-point win over Cincinnati in 2017. The Bearcats got to their fourth consecutive AAC tournament title game with a 60-59 win over the top-seeded Shockers in their semifinal game Saturday. AdHouston: The Cougars are going to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
No. 7 Houston to AAC title game with 76-74 win over Memphis
Gorham scored Houstonโs last six points on a nifty one-handed reverse layup and four free throws, and the Cougars held off Memphis for a 76-74 semifinal win Saturday. That was only seven days after losing in Houston on a game-ending banked 3-pointer after tying that game with 1.7 seconds left. The whole season weโve been working to try to get to the NCAA Tournament,โ Ellis said. Cincinnati (12-10) won the last two AAC title games over Houston, 69-57 in 2019 and 56-55 in 2018. Memphis hasnโt been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
Mark's long 3-pointer at buzzer lifts Houston to 67-64 win
Houston guard Tramon Mark, right, celebrates his game-winning 3-point basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Houston. 9 Houston a 67-64 win over Memphis on Sunday. The Tigers shot 47%, including 8 of 21 on 3-pointers. AdBIG PICTUREMemphis: The Tigers missed a chance to improve their NCAA Tournament chances with a marquee win. โฆ Memphis shot 10 of 20 from the free-throw line.
No. 11 Houston uses big first half to cruise past UCF 75-58
11 Houston used a dominant first half to cruise to a 75-58 win over UCF on Sunday. Houston (11-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) won its fourth straight game since its loss to Tulsa. โIt was a great game for us,โ Houston guard DeJon Jarreau said. โThey made a lot of shots to start the first half off and kind of knocked us back,โ UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. Sampson passed former Houston coach Tom Penders.
Rachal's late free throws lift Tulane past No. 5 Houston
(AP Photo/Dave Crenshaw)TULSA, Okla. โ Brandon Rachal hit two free throws with a tenth of a second remaining and finished with 22 points as Tulsa topped unbeaten No. Rey Idowu made one of two free throws to give Tulsa a 63-62 lead before Mills put the Cougars ahead. Houston shot just 38% in the first half, but had nine offensive rebounds and scored nine second-chance points. The Cougars lead the American Conference in rebounding margin, turnover margin and steals. Houston shot just 35% from the field, including 19% on 3-pointers (4 of 21) and were unable to overwhelm Tulsa with their physicality, as they have most opponents.
Gonzaga and Baylor to face off in rare top-2 meeting
2 Baylor will play in Indianapolis on Saturday for the ninth meeting between the top two teams in AP Top 25 since 2005. 2 Kentucky met last season in the previous 1-vs.-2 meeting, a game won by the Wildcats 69-62. Playing in Las Vegas, Baylor opened with a 112-82 win over Louisiana-Lafayette and followed with an 96-52 thumping of Washington. Jay Wright's Wildcats opened the season in Bubbleville and opted to stay in Connecticut to face Hartford. Villanova won that game 87-53 to bounce back from its first loss of the season, 81-73 to No.