March 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) scores in the first half against the Baylor Bears at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Image No. 7 Houston will close out Big 12 play Saturday in its first game this season at Oklahoma State.
The Cougars (25-5, 13-4) are looking for their third straight win after three straight losses, but head to Stillwater knowing they can’t catch conference champion Arizona. The second-ranked Wildcats have suffered just two setbacks and were helped by a 73-66 road win over Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team at Texas two weeks ago.
Houston’s immediate task is to secure second place in the Big 12 with an 18-12, 6-11 win over the Cowboys before the upcoming conference tournament begins Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Cougars are 12-5 in the league standings, one game ahead of third-place Texas Tech, and close the regular season late Saturday night at BYU.
In Wednesday night’s home finale, Houston appeared to be sleepwalking throughout the game and was nearly trailing or tied throughout the first 33 minutes of the game against Baylor.
The home team finally took the lead when Emanuel Sharp, who scores 15.9 points per game, hit a wing 3-pointer with 7:16 left to give the team its first lead.
That three-ball seemed to wake up the group to close the game at 23-6 and send the Cougar faithful home happy after an emotional Senior Night.
Kingston Flemings, a likely NBA lottery pick (club-high 16.6 points), scored a game-high 21 points. The San Antonio freshman added seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Sampson was emotional as he spoke about his role and the relationships he developed with his players.
“I’m not their father, but I’m a father figure and mentor in many ways,” Sampson said. “And as a mentor and a father, you push your buttons, you stick your heart out, and when you look at them, your mind turns and you think about his hardest times, his most difficult times, and how he got through it all and became who you are today.
“I’ve spent more time with these kids than their parents since they’ve been on campus.”
In two of the last three contests, Oklahoma State has topped West Virginia and surprised a red-hot UCF in two thrilling overtime games, winning by seven points both times.
The Cowboys are down 2-1 in overtime so far.
Second-year coach Steve Lutz said his team took a step forward in the second half by winning the rebounding battle and getting to the foul line, key to beating the Knights after a poor first 20 minutes of shooting in Orlando, Florida.
“If you’re inconsistent with your 3-point shooting, you have to find other ways to get extra possessions and score more points,” Lutz said. “Tonight we got to the free throw line and did it, and we were plus-12 on the boards (second half).”
Lutz was proud of his team’s ability to bounce back after last Saturday’s 91-68 loss at Cincinnati.
“We put ourselves in a position to win against UCF on Sunday and Monday thanks to our practice habits, competitiveness and defensive effort,” Lutz said.
Senior Anthony Roy leads the Cowboys in scoring with 16.7 points per game, while Parsa Fallah tops the team with 14.7 points and six rebounds.
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