PREVIEW: #5/5 Men’s Basketball Starts Postseason Play

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Winners of its last three games, the #5/5 University of Houston Men's Basketball program begins postseason play when it tips off in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals at 6 p.m., Thursday, inside T-Mobile Center.

The Cougars will face (10) BYU, which took a 68-48 win over (7) West Virginia in the tournament Second Round on Wednesday evening.

Houston (26-5 • 14-4 Big 12) enters the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament following a come-from-behind 82-75 win at Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. Redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty came off the bench to pour in a career-high 20 points thanks to a personal-best six 3-point field goals.

McCarty led five Cougars in double-digit points with freshman point guard Kingston Flemings 13), junior forward Joseph Tugler (12), senior point guard Milos Uzan (11) and senior guard Emanuel Sharp (11) joining the group.

In 2025 , the Cougars enjoyed wins over (16) Colorado and #17/18 (4) BYU before taking a 72-64 win over rv/#24 (3) Arizona in the Title Game for the first Big 12 Tournament title in program history.

TUNE IN
• Fans can watch Thursday's game on ESPN2 with on Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst).
• Fans can hear Thursday's game on 950 AM KPRC, the Varsity Network app and SiriusXM Ch. 138 or Ch. 198 with Jeremy Branham (play-by-play) and Elvin Hayes (analyst). The pregame show begins at 5:45 p.m., Thursday.
• Fans can follow live stats from Saturday's game on StatBroadcast.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE POSTSEASON HONORS
Flemings, Sharp, Tugler and Uzan received postseason recognition from the Big 12 Conference earlier this week.

Flemings was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team as a unanimous selection for each. Sharp joined Flemings on the All-Big 12 First Team and named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

Tugler joined Sharp on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, becoming the first Cougar to be named to multiple conference All-Defensive Teams during his career. He joined with Uzan as All-Big 12 Honorable Mentions.

POSTSEASON CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Houston has posted a 60-39 record during conference postseason tournaments during its history... That includes a 5-1 record in the Big 12; a 14-7 mark in the American Athletic Conference; a 13-15 record in Conference USA play and a 28-16 tally in the Southwest Conference.
• The Cougars have advanced to the Title Game of its conference tournament in each of the last seven seasons (first two in Big 12, last five in American Athletic Conference).
• The Cougars have posted a 5-1 record at the Big 12 Championship during its history.
• Houston has advanced to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Title Game in each of its first two seasons in the league and swept the regular-season and tournament titles in 2025.
• This marks the 10th time that Houston has been seeded No. 2 at a conference tournament (2026 Big 12; 2021, 2020, 2016 American Athletic; 1996, 1992, 1990, 1982, 1981, 1977 Southwest).
• Houston is 13-5 when competing as a #2 seed at a conference tournament.
• This marks the eighth straight season in which Houston will play/would have played as a Top-Two seed at a conference tournament.
• Houston claimed conference tournament crowns as the #2 seed in 2021 (American Athletic), 1992 and 1981 (Southwest).

BUY TICKETS
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ABOUT BYU
• BYU enters Thursday's game with a 23-10 overall record. The Cougars finished 9-9 in Big 12 Conference play to tie with West Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati in the league.
• BYU will compete as the #3 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament
• BYU has won its last three games, including each of its first two at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.
• BYU is 7-1 in neutral-site games and 10-7 in non-home games this season.
• In its most recent action, BYU took a 68-48 win over (7) West Virginia during the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Second Round inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday night.
• Against West Virginia, freshman forward AJ Dybantsa led all players with 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting and tied with redshirt freshman guard Khadim Mboup for game-high honors with seven rebounds. Junior guard Kennard Davis Jr. totaled 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-6 from long range, and grabbed three rebounds with a pair of steals while
• This season, Dybantsa leads BYU and the Big 12 with 25.2 points per game and is second on the team with 3.8 assists and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Robert Wright III is second on the team with 18.3 points per game and leads the squad with 4.7 assists per contest. Before being sidelined with injury, senior guard Richie Saunders averaged 18.0 points per game to rank third. Keba Kita leads BYU with 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
• Head Coach Kevin Young is in his second season at BYU and as a collegiate head coach.
• Young has built a 49-20 record with BYU and during his career.
• Young has posted an 0-3 record against Houston during his career.
• He has posted an 0-3 record against Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson during their careers with BYU and Houston, respectively.
• Young is a 2004 graduate of Clayton State.

SERIES HISTORY vs. BYU
• Houston owns a 9-3 lead against BYU in the series, which began during the 1965-66 season.
• Thursday's game will be the second meeting against BYU during the 2025-26 season.
• This marks the third straight season in which the Cougars will face BYU as Big 12 Conference rivals.
• Saturday's game marks the fourth straight encounter in which Houston was ranked. Houston is 4-0 in those games.
• Houston has won the last four meetings and seven of the last eight against BYU. Only a 72-71 BYU win inside Fertitta Center in Houston on November 15, 2019, prevents a longer streak
• In the most recent meeting, #8/8 Houston took a 77-66 win over #16/14 BYU inside Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on February 7. It was the start of a two-game road trip through the state of Utah.
• In the series' first meeting, BYU claimed a 111-82 win in Provo on December 4, 1965.
at Neutral Site: Houston owns a 2-1 record in neutral site games against BYU.
• In the most recent neutral-site showdown, #2/2 Houston took a 74-54 win over #17/18 BYU during the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Semifinals inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Mo., on March 14, 2025.
• In the series' first neutral-site meeting, #12 Houston enjoyed a 98-75 win over BYU at the Cable Car Classic in San Francisco on December 14, 1968.
at Big 12 Tournament: Houston owns a 1-0 record in against BYU during the Phillips 66 BIg 12 Tournament.
• This marks the second straight season in which Houston will face BYU during the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament..
• In the most recent meeting at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament, #2/2 Houston took a 74-54 win over #17/18 BYU during the Semifinals inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Mo., on March 14, 2025.

UP NEXT
• With a win in Thursday's Quarterfinals, the Cougars advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Semifinals inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
• The Cougars would face the winner from (3) Kansas/(6) TCU-(14) Oklahoma State at 8:30 p.m., Friday. The game will air on ESPN or ESPN2.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC, the Varsity Network app and Sirius XM Radio.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by providing NIL opportunities and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget.

Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.

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