Houston basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson broke down the stunning, game-winning inbounds play towards Purdue. The final matchup of the Candy 16 was a basic, and simply when it seemed just like the Cougars have been pulling away, the Boilermakers launched a livid rally to tie the sport within the final minute. Luckily, with 2.8 seconds left within the recreation, Sampson drew up an phenomenal play that noticed the inbounder, Milos Uzan, get the ball instantly again from Joseph Tugler for a layup with simply 0.9 left on the clock. The Cougars subsequently gained 62-60, advancing to their first Elite Eight in three years.
Sampson gave an in depth response on this genius inbounds play and the way it generated the open look.
Kelvin Sampson on the ultimate #Houston inbounds play, which was 3-option learn. He says it hardly ever will get to the third possibility besides in follow.
“We do not run it sufficient for a workforce to be sitting on it.”
He informed me they practiced it one of many final 2 days.@KHOU pic.twitter.com/DU4LMLoMeQ— Jason Bristol (@JBristolKHOU) March 29, 2025
The Cougars gutted out an important win in a recreation that they weren’t at their finest
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Survive and advance. That is the primary takeaway Houston basketball can have from Friday night time’s thriller. The Cougars bought over a serious psychological hurdle on this conflict towards the Boilermakers. For 2 straight years, this system was a No. 1 seed and fell within the Candy 16 towards an underdog. And, at occasions towards the Boilermakers, it seemed like this recreation was trending in the identical path. The Cougars main scorer, LJ Cryer, closely struggled on Friday, scoring simply 5 factors on 2/13 taking pictures.
However, not like previous Houston basketball groups, this squad could make up for its finest participant struggling because it has far more depth and is far more explosive offensively. And happily, different gamers picked up the slack for Cryer, equivalent to Milos Uzan. The junior switch from Oklahoma has been a game-changer for the Cougars and grown into the season because it has gone on. Uzan completed this recreation with 22 factors and 6 assists, together with the viral game-winning bucket.
Total, whereas Kelvin Sampson’s program ought to cherish this unimaginable outcome, this group needs to be so much higher within the Elite Eight. Second seeded Tennessee is an absolute juggernaut and really assured after the 78-65 win towards Kentucky. The Cougars must play their finest recreation of the match to get rid of what’s to date Rick Barnes’ finest workforce in Knoxville.