No. 1 seed Houston advanced to the Elite Eight on a perfectly executed last-second inbounds play that led to a game-winning layup by Milos Uzan on Friday night, as the Cougars outlasted No. 4 seed Purdue 62-60 in a thrilling cap to the Sweet 16.
Uzan was the inbounds passer with 2.8 seconds remaining and hit Joseph Tugler with a pass before cutting to the basket himself, taking a pass back from Tugler and laying the ball in the basket with 0.9 seconds on the clock to lift the Cougars into the Elite Eight.
The play was a moment of schematic wizardry from coach Kelvin Sampson as he seeks to the Cougars to their third Final Four appearance of the past five seasons. It capped a huge night for Uzan, who finished with a game-high 22 points.
“When you’re calling stuff at the end of the game, it’s got to be something you’ve worked on countless times,” Sampson said. “We actually worked on that play yesterday. We call it ’51’ and there are three different reads. They did a good job of taking the first one. But we got into the second one, and Jo made the right read with the tap there. So, great execution.”
Uzan told sideline reporter Evan Washburn that the play was drawn up for LJ Cryer.
“But they guarded JoJo wrong,” Uzan said.
Even after the elite bit of late-game execution, Purdue got one final crack at a game-winner. However, star guard Braden Smith’s heave from near half-court went slightly wayward as the final horn sounded.
The outcome sets up an Elite Eight showdown on Sunday between the Cougars and No. 2 seed Tennessee.
