Houston coach Quannaz White embraces guard Milos Uzan (7) after claiming victory in the Sweet Sixteen, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis, Ind. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Junior guard Milos Uzan hit the game-winning layup, capping a 22-point night with a career-high six 3-pointers, as the top-seeded Houston men’s basketball punched its first ticket to the Elite Eight since 2022 with a 62-60 win over No. 4 seed Purdue in the Midwest Regional on Friday night in Indianapolis, Ind.
A 3-pointer from Purdue’s sophomore forward Camden Heide tied the game at 60 with only 35 seconds left.
Houston secured one last chance with 2.9 seconds remaining after the ball went out on Purdue. Uzan inbounded the ball to sophomore forward Joseph Tugler, drawing two defenders to graduate guard L.J. Cryer, the intended recipient. With a numbers advantage near the inbound play, Tugler hit Uzan with a bounce pass, setting up the game-winning layup, which dropped through the hoop with 0.9 seconds left to send Houston to its third Elite Eight in five years.
“Finding a way to win is what we have done pretty good at all year,” coach Kelvin Sampson said.
The Cougars weathered nearly every punch. They led as many as 10 points during the second half, but the Boilermakers began to burn away their lead, going on a 14-4 run.
Houston’s leading scorer, Cryer, scored five points, 10 below his season average. He scored his first basket with 15:29 remaining in the second half and went 2-for-13 from the floor. His second make came in the form of a critical 3-pointer just over three minutes left to give Houston a 60-55 lead.
Houston’s backcourt faced more adversity as graduate guard Mylik Wilson spent the latter portion of the second half in the locker room after slamming his head on the hardwood. He will undergo further evaluation.
The team went a combined 9-for-30 in the first half from the floor in what often felt like a road environment in Lucas Oil Stadium, just 65 miles from Purdue’s campus, but the Cougars got the job done the Houston way.
Trailing 31-29 at the break, Houston, the best team in the nation when down at the half, did not crumble.
“That’s what comes with being great, ‘don’t it?’ When stuff don’t go your way, just find ways to overcome it… Halftime is not about screaming or getting on players to do certain things…it’s just trying to not make the same mistakes in the second half,” graduate forward J’Wan Roberts said.
Houston settled down after the break, going on a 13-4 run to briefly erase their two-point deficit. Later in the half, Uzan hit 3-pointers on back-to-back Cougar possessions to give them a 10-point lead.
In total, the Cougars scored 20 second-chance points to Purdue’s nine and outrebounded the Boilermakers 38-29. It was a crucial edge in what Sampson calls “unscripted points” that kept them alive.
Despite its effort to control the game, Houston had to manage Purdue’s early firepower, especially from junior guard Fletcher Loyer, who scored nine of Purdue’s first 13 points and finished the half with 12. He only scored four points during the second half, missing all four of his three-point attempts.
Redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp racked up the second-highest point total with 17, second only to Uzan, who shot 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Houston is now 33-4 on the season and is 6-1 when trailing at the half.
“Everyone knows how the tournament goes, but I think they have enough pieces to win it all,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
The Cougars will now turn around to face No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight round on Sunday, March 31, at 1:20 p.m. CT on CBS.
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“Houston advances to first Elite Eight since 2022 with win over Purdue” was originally posted on The Cougar