Jamal Shead contributed 13 points, six rebounds, and eight assists, while Damian Dunn added 12 points as No. 1 Houston secured the Big 12 regular-season title in its inaugural season in the conference, dominating No. 14 Kansas 76-46 on Saturday.
L.J. Cryer scored 11 points, and J’Wan Roberts recorded 10 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (28-3, 15-3), who established a commanding 40-21 lead at halftime by shooting 46% from the field and sinking 6 three-pointers.
“Showing them what we’ve been doing all year,” remarked Shead. “They didn’t get our best shot at Kansas, we got theirs. I guess we gave them our best shot today.”
Houston maintained its offensive prowess throughout the game, shooting 44% overall and converting 11 of 29 shots from beyond the arc while capitalizing on 18 turnovers to score 30 points.
“It’s gratifying,” expressed Houston coach Kelvin Sampson regarding the Big 12 victory. “I’m happy for everybody. Some so many people have an inferior complex about … we’re the University of Houston. This is a damn good school. We live in a damn good city, and we’re a damn good basketball program. We should never, ever, ever take a backseat to anybody.”
The Cougars concluded their regular season with a ninth consecutive win, extending their home winning streak to 22 games. “It’s almost like people thought the only teams we played were American (Athletic Conference),” Sampson commented on Houston’s former conference.
“You don’t get to the Final Four or Elite Eight or Sweet Sixteen without beating other good teams. The only difference was playing them every night, but they had to play us, too.”
Hunter Dickinson of Kansas contributed 11 points and six rebounds but exited the game with 11:08 remaining due to a right shoulder injury sustained during a rebounding battle.
Kansas coach Bill Self confirmed that Dickinson dislocated his shoulder, but it popped back in. Dickinson will undergo an MRI for further evaluation.
“Kevin, he hadn’t done anything since K-State much, and then, today, he felt better, thought he’d try,” Self remarked regarding Kevin McCullar Jr., who was scoreless in the first half and didn’t play in the second half due to a knee tweak earlier in the week. “I wish we wouldn’t have played Kev. It’s a pretty level of concern when your two best players are questionable moving forward.”
Self-stated that it was premature to determine the availability of Dickinson and McCullar Jr. for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas (22-9, 10-8) suffered its third loss in four games, shooting 33% overall and converting only 3 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc.
Houston dominated the first half, establishing a 34-9 lead, while Kansas struggled to find its rhythm, missing 10 consecutive field goal attempts at one point. The game presented a stark contrast to their initial encounter on Feb. 3, where Kansas secured a 78-65 win by jumping to a 23-11 lead and shooting 69%.
