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INDIANAPOLIS — With 2.8 seconds remaining with the score tied in a Sweet 16 game Friday, 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 inbounder, 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 to a 62-60 win over the No. 4 Boilermakers. It was give, go, layin 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