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University of Houston
30-3,15-3Big 12
#25/23 (4) Texas Tech
23-10,11-7Big 12
#1 Men’s Basketball Routs Red Raiders, Punches Ticket to Big 12 Title Game
3/15/2024 8:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cryer scores 20, Shead records double-double and two other Cougars score in double figures
Senior foward J'Wan Roberts played only a few minutes in each half after hurting his right leg, but the rest of the short-handed Cougars covered for him. Sophomore guard Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points and the conference player of the year, senior guard Jamal Shead had 12, helping Houston (30-3) outscore its old Southwest Conference rival 50-30 in the second half to reach the title game in its first year in its new conference.
The Cougars will play seventh-ranked Iowa State or No. 14 Baylor for the Big 12 Tournament championship Saturday night.
Chance McMillian scored 15 points and Joe Toussaint had 10 for Texas Tech (23-10), which closed to 40-38 with 16 1/2 minutes to go before Houston ripped off a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to turn a close game into a laugher.
Pop Isaacs, the Red Raiders' leading scorer, was held to six points on 2-for-13 shooting.
Houston won the regular-season Big 12 title and has spent the past three weeks atop the AP Top 25 despite a wave of injuries - even before Roberts was hurt - that crippled the front line head coach Kelvin Sampson expected to have this season.
The Cougars compensated for Roberts' injury by cinching up their defense, forcing Texas Tech into several shot-clock violations.
The Red Raiders, who started 4-of-21 from the field, briefly found their stride late in the first half. McMillian came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers and score 10 points, and Texas Tech used a 17-5 run to close to 32-29 at the break.
But Houston got an emotional boost, if nothing else, when Roberts limped onto the floor for the second half. And while he only played a few minutes before icing his leg on the bench again, his return coincided with the Cougars' decisive run.
UP NEXT• With Friday's win, Houston advanced to its first Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships Title Game, where it will face the winner of #7/8 (2) Iowa State-#14/13 (3) Baylor at 5 p.m., Saturday, inside T-Mobile Center.
• That game will air on ESPN.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC and the Varsity Network app.
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