No. 1 UH Cougars on cusp of Big 12 tourney title, automatic March Madness bid after 23-point win

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KTRK) — With just a three-point lead at the half and suffering the loss of star big man J’Wan Roberts, L.J. Cryer and the Houston Cougars men’s basketball team put on a second-half clinic against Texas Tech, blowing out the Red Raiders and punching a ticket to the Big 12 Championship final.

Cryer, a senior guard from Katy, scored 20 points, including six three-point shots, to propel No. 1 UH to an 82-59 victory in the conference semifinals.

Emanuel Sharp added 17 points, and Ja’Vier Francis scored 12.

Houston held the Red Raiders to 15-of-45 shooting while forcing 19 turnovers but allowed a 17-5 run to close the first half.

The Coogs had a scare early in the contest when senior forward Roberts, who was playing with a hand injury, awkwardly landed and hit the deck, holding his right leg. The ESPN2 broadcast reported that he suffered a shin contusion that eventually kept him out of the rest of the game.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson and his team, already predicted to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, are bidding for an automatic bid into March Madness, which could boost the likelihood of Houston becoming the overall top seed in the 68-team tournament.

The road ahead

The program will play in the Big 12 tournament championship game against Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

Houston will learn their NCAA tournament seeding the day after on Selection Sunday. ESPN’s Bracketology predicts the Coogs will earn a No. 1 seed in the South Region, which will hold the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds in Dallas.

SEE ALSO: UH head coach Kelvin Sampson calls Jamal Shead ‘the greatest leader I’ve ever coached