Texas Tech next for No. 1 Houston Cougars after they embarrass TCU to advance to Big 12 semis
Houston began the game with a 16-0 run within the first 10 minutes.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KTRK) -- The Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament has had two days of games already, but the Houston Cougars tipped off their participation Thursday afternoon, picking up where they left off in their 30-point drubbing of Kansas.
The Cougars raced out to a 16-0 lead within the first 10 minutes against the TCU Horned Frogs in the Big 12 quarterfinals before extending it to 23 points en route to a 60-45 victory.
Houston, the nation's top defensive program, collected nine blocks, nine steals, and 30 defensive rebounds to cruise to the win.
UH's sophomore guard, Emanuel Sharp, led all scoring with 14 points. Senior guard Jamal Shead added 12 points. Senior forward J'Wan Roberts grabbed 10 rebounds.
Only three teams claimed to beat the 28-win UH squad this season; the Horned Frogs and the Kansas Jayhawks were two of those programs. Both fell to UH in rematches within the last five days.
UH head coach Kelvin Sampson and the Coogs collected the first of three wins that they needed in three days to earn the tournament championship and, most crucially, an automatic bid into March Madness, which could boost the likelihood of Houston becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team tournament.
The road ahead
Houston faces the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the semifinals on Friday. Tech defeated BYU in an 81-67 game that tipped off at 11:30 a.m. CT.
ABC13 sister network ESPN2 will carry Houston vs. Texas Tech on Friday at 6 p.m.
If UH goes the distance, the Big 12 tournament championship game will be set for 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.
How UH fared vs. Tech in regular season
If the Kansas and TCU games of the last week were part of a revenge tour, consider the upcoming Tech game as a potential sequel of a historic matchup.
Jamal Shead scored a career-high 29 points when the Red Raiders visited Fertitta Center on Jan. 17. Shead's double-double that evening helped UH win and rebound from an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak.
Who was the team that UH faced directly before Tech? TCU, of course.
"I thought Shead was not going to lose this game. No matter what," Tech coach Grant McCasland said after Houston's 77-54 victory. "It looked like his will to win, his physicality on both sides of the ball, his maturity, his leadership and (and I) just couldn't be more impressed with the way he competed. He looked like the best guard in our league today."
Shead went on to claim the Big 12 Player of the Year honor.
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