No. 2 Houston shuts down No. 17 BYU for a 74-54 victory in Big 12 Tournament semifinals
Brigham Young's Trey Stewart looks to the basket as Houston's Mylik Wilson (8), Ja'Vier Francis, second from right, and Emanuel Sharp (21) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Emanuel Sharpe scored 26 points, LJ Cryer had 20 and second-ranked Houston stifled No. 17 BYU in a 74-54 victory Friday night that moved the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.
Milos Uzan added 14 points and Mylik Wilson pulled down 13 rebounds, helping the tournament's top seed jump to a big early lead and roll into Saturday night's matchup with Arizona on a 12-game win streak.
Houston (29-4) played without J'Wan Roberts, its leading rebounder, after he sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Cougars' quarterfinal win over Colorado. Roberts watched from the bench with his right foot in a walking boot.
He got to watch quite a defensive show by one of the nation's best.
Houston forced BYU to miss its first nine shots, including seven from beyond the arc, where coach Kevin Young's team had set a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made 3s on its way to 96 points in a quarterfinal win over Iowa State. That nearly seven-minute lull allowed Houston to roar to a 15-0 lead that it spent the rest of the game protecting.
BYU trimmed its 40-21 halftime deficit to 13 midway through the second half but never threatened to come all the way back.
Keba Keita had 14 points and 12 rebounds for BYU. Dawson Baker scored 11 points and Richie Saunders had 10.
Houston's Ja'Vier Francis, left, looks to pass as Brigham Young's Richie Saunders (15) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
Takeaways
BYU still has not won a conference tournament title since 2001 in the Mountain West.
Houston lived up to its billing as the nation's No. 1 team in defensive efficiency.
Key moment
Sharpe converted a four-point play with 13:40 left in the first half to give Houston its 15-0 lead.
Key stat
Houston has beaten BYU by an average of 25.5 points in their two games this season.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson is seen on the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Brigham Young in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
Up next
Houston will play the Wildcats for the Big 12 title.
