Seventh-ranked Houston no longer can clinch a share of the Big 12 regular-season title, but it has a good chance of finishing in second place.
Coach Kelvin Sampson’s club will play its home finale Wednesday night against Baylor in the second meeting of the season between the Texas programs.
The Cougars (24-5, 12-4) pummeled Colorado by a whopping 40 points Saturday to break a three-game losing streak, relying on Milos Uzan’s 26 points and all-around production from Kingston Flemings.
Uzan was terrific shooting the ball, going 9 of 13 from the floor — including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Flemings produced 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the Cougars hit 34 of 57 shots from the floor (59.6%) and held Colorado to 23 of 50 (46.0%) shooting.
Sampson said after the game that he had a man-to-man meeting with Uzan, who averages 11.5 points per game and is second on the squad with 4.1 assists.
“I thought Milos was starting to drift a little bit,” Sampson said. “I needed to get him back centered. Remind him of how good he was. How special he is.”
Flemings boasts team-best averages in points (16.4), assists (5.2) and steals (1.6), while Emanuel Sharp contributes 15.8 points. Chris Cenac Jr. produces 9.6 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds.
With Arizona clinching the Big 12 regular-season title outright on Monday, the Cougars will turn their attention to locking down second place in the conference. They share the same 12-4 conference record with No. 10 Texas Tech, which hosts TCU on Tuesday before its season finale at BYU on Saturday.
In Joe Lunardi’s latest ESPN Bracketology predictions, the Cougars slot as a No. 3 seed in the South Region.
Coming off its best win over a surging UCF squad on Saturday in Orlando, Fla., Baylor (15-14, 5-11) sits near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Bears are tied with Oklahoma State with five victories, three ahead of last-place Kansas State and Utah.
Cameron Carr, who averages a team-best 19.2 points on the season, tallied 26 versus the Knights and Obi Agbim sealed the upset with a game-winning free throw with 1.3 seconds in the 87-86 victory.
Coach Scott Drew’s group has won two of three games, however, after a pair of four-game losing streaks sent the Bears toward the Big 12’s basement.
Drew likes the play of guard Isaac Williams, who averages 10.6 points per game.
“(He) is so effective getting to the paint, and I think he’s really improved his ability to get to the paint and spray it around, get other guys shots,” Drew said.
Sharp contributed 17 points as Houston saw five players score in double figures during its 77-55 victory over Baylor on Jan. 10.
