A perfectly executed inbounds play gave No. 1 Houston a 62-60 win over Purdue and a spot in the Elite Eight.
INDIANAPOLIS — With 2.8 seconds remaining with the score tied in a Sweet 16 game, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson called a clever baseline inbounds play that will long be replayed on March highlight reels.
Cougars wing Milos Uzan inbounded the ball to forward Joseph Tugler about eight feet from the basket. Tugler, immediately realizing that Purdue guard Braden Smith fled his spot guarding the in-bounder, dropped a quick pass back to the unguarded Uzan, who leaped unimpeded to the basket and laid the ball in.
The shot delivered No. 1 Houston a 62-60 win over the No. 4 Boilermakers. It was give, go, lay-in and win for one of this NCAA tournament’s most memorable moments.
«That was beautiful», Uzan said of the way the play unfolded. «Especially in a moment like this, Sweet 16 to go to the Elite Eight.»
The winning shot capped a 22-point night for Uzan, gave Sampson one of the signature wins of his career and propelled the top-seeded Cougars to a matchup with No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday. For a Houston program that has reached six consecutive Sweet 16s, the moment will resonate as one of the most indelible amid a gilded run for the program.
«Given the stakes, given what was at play here, given the fact that we’ve been in this moment two consecutive years and couldn’t quite get over the hump», Houston assistant coach Kellen Sampson said.
Houston squandered a 10-point lead in the final eight minutes, as Purdue tied the score with a Camden Heide 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. It came on a sweet dish from Smith, who finished with 15 assists, and only because Tugler cheated off Heide in the corner to leave him open.
