March 13, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Cougars forward Joseph Tuggler (11) shoots the ball toward Kansas Jayhawks forward Bryson Tiller (15) in the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image Freshmen Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. put on a suffocating defensive performance to help No. 5 Houston run away with a 69-47 victory over No. 14 Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal nightcap on Friday in Kansas City.
The second-seeded Cougars (28-5) will face top-seeded Arizona (31-2) in the Big 12 title game on Saturday. Houston has reached the Big 12 title game in each of its first three years in the league and is seeking its second straight conference title.
Flemings scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Cenac added 17 points, his most since Jan. 18 at Arizona State, along with 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Both were 4 of 3 from 3-point range.
Emanuel Sharp hit three 3-pointers for the Cougars, who shot 55.6% (10 of 18) from beyond the arc to secure their fifth straight win and avenge a regular-season loss at Kansas.
The Jayhawks (23-10) recorded their lowest scoring loss since March 9, 2024, when they lost 76-46 to Houston. They turned it over just eight times and weren’t dominant on the boards (Houston held a 42-37 advantage), but they made just 24.6% of their shots (14 of 57).
Kansas made 7 of 34 3-pointers (30.4%) and just 7 of 34 2-pointers (20.6%). Darrin Peterson (14 points) was the only Jayhawk in double figures, but he made 1 of 11 3-pointers. Flory Vidunga had 12 rebounds and 5 points.
The Cougars continued their stingy defensive finish from Thursday’s quarterfinal loss to BYU to the start of Friday’s game. Kansas went 2-for-12 from the floor on 30.8% shooting in the first half as Houston took a 33-25 lead into the break.
Peterson accounted for nearly half of the Jayhawks’ first-half points, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Cenac led the Cougars with 15 points in the first half along with a team-high seven boards.
Houston took firm control of the game, opening the second half on an 18-2 run. It was another ice-cold start for Kansas, which missed its first 16 field goal attempts after halftime to give the Cougars a 51-27 advantage with 12:26 remaining.
Kansas never cut the deficit below 17 points the rest of the way.
–Field level media
