#2/2 Men's Basketball Defeats Colorado, Advance to Big 12 Championship Semifinals

Junior guard Emanuel Sharp scored 19 points, and the No. 2/2 University of Houston Men's Basketball program overcame an injury to graduate forward J'Wan Roberts in the second half to beat Colorado 77-68 inside T-Mobile Center and advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Semifinals on Thursday.

Graduate guard LJ Cryer and junior guard Milos Uzan added 14 points apiece for the top-seeded Cougars (28-4), who will play #17/18 (4) BYU on Friday night for a spot in their second consecutive Phillips Big 12 Championship Title Game.

The Cougars have won 11 consecutive games and 24 of their last 25 contests since losing in overtime to #22/19 Texas Tech on Feb. 1. That streak includes a win over the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colo., in early February.

Houston advanced to its seventh straight conference tournament semifinal. It won the American Athletic Conference Championship titles in 2021 and '22.

With his baseline 3-pointer with 3:21 remaining in the first half, Sharp became the 54^th member of Houston's career 1,000-Point Club. He also was the fourth Cougar to reach that milestone in 2024-25, joining Cryer and Roberts (members of Houston's career club) and graduate guard Mylik Wilson, who reached that total over his complete collegiate career.

Roberts, the Cougars' leading rebounder was helped to the locker room, where he was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, and spent the rest of the game watching from the bench.

Andrej Jakimovski had 25 points for the Buffaloes, who won twice in the Big 12 tourney as its first No. 16 seed to finish a trying season on a high note. Leading scorer Julian Hammond III managed just nine points on 2-for-13 shooting.

Colorado lost forward Sebastian Rancik to an injury in the first half. And without another body off the bench, the grind of playing three games in three days was evident as Houston wore the Buffaloes down in the second half.

Colorado closed within 66-58 with 5 1/3 minutes left before Uzan buried a pair of 3-pointers to give the Cougars a cushion. Houston trailed for only 29 seconds in the game.

Emanuel Sharp, Pregame Activities at Big 12 Championship

Emanuel Sharp, Pregame Activities at Big 12 Championship

FRIDAY PREGAME EVENTS
Fans are invited to a variety of pregame events ahead of Friday's Semifinal game.

Fans are welcome to send the Cougars off to T-Mobile Arena from the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center lobby (1 East Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO 64018) beginning at 3:30 p.m., Friday.

Fans are invited to the University of Houston Alumni Associate Pregame Meetup at County Roads Ice House (100 East 14^th St., #2919, Kansas City, MO 64106), beginning at 4 p.m., Friday.

UP NEXT
• The Cougars advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Semifinals to face #17/18 (4) BYU inside T-Mobile Center at 6 p.m., Friday, March 14.
• That game will air on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Kris Budden calling and can be heard on 950 AM KPRC and the Varsity Network app with Jeremy Branham calling.

BUY 2024-25 TICKETS
Current season-ticket holders can renew their season tickets now through April 30 by clicking here and logging into their accounts.

Non-season ticket holders interested in purchasing season tickets are invited to place their names on the Season Ticket Wait List by clicking here.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective – and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget.

Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.

– UHCougars.com –

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