No. 17 BYU Never Recovered From Slow Start In Loss To No. 2 Houston

The nine-game win streak for BYU basketball has come to a close. No. 17 BYU lost to No. 2 Houston in the Semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday.

Final: No. 2 Houston 74, No. 17 BYU 54

Season-low in scoring for BYU ends a nine-game win streak and four-game win streak against Top 25 opponents.

BYU was 6 of 28 from 3-point range.

BYU now awaits where they will land in the NCAA Tournament this Sunday.

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 15, 2025

The Cougars in red, who are the two-time Big 12 Conference regular season champions, defeated BYU 74-54.

Before BYU got on the scoreboard, Houston built a 15-0 lead to open the game. Kevin Young’s Cougars, who entered the game red-hot and were one of the top teams in the country over the past month, never recovered.

What’s even more impressive about Houston’s performance is that they were without senior leader J’Wan Roberts in the frontcourt.

BYU’s 54 points were a season-low. The previous low in scoring for BYU this year was 55 against Houston on January 4 at the Fertitta Center.

BYU shot 32% from the field and 21% from three. In the win over Iowa State on Thursday, BYU set a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made three-pointers. On Friday, BYU only knocked down six threes on 28 attempts.

Meanwhile, Houston was 42% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc.

Houston was led by Emmanuel Sharp, who scored 26 points, and LJ Cryer, who added another 20.

BYU’s leading scorer was Keba Keita, who scored 14 points. All of Keita’s points were scored in the second half.

Richie Saunders was held to 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field.

The loss ends BYU’s four-game winning streak against Top 25 opponents.

Houston extends its winning streak to 12 games and will face the winner of Arizona/Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game.

First Half

15:37 – Tough start for BYU. The Cougars had three turnovers, two shots stuck between the rims, and zero points.

Kevin Young turned to Dallin Hall in replace of Egor Demin before the first media timeout. Houston knocked down 50% of its attempts and had three more shots than BYU. Houston 9, BYU 0.

10:58 – BYU’s first field goal was at the 13:15 mark when Dawson Baker made an and-one. The only problem was that BYU was down 15-0 before the bucket.

Trey Stewart hit BYU’s first three-point attempt. When the shot fell it looked to be a little momentum, but that was immediately negated when Stewart was called for a technical foul by the officials. Houston 19, BYU 6.

7:46 – BYU trimmed down the Houston lead to single digits after Richie Saunders buried a three-pointer. The Cougars came out timid to open the game. Their offense is looking to settle in a little bit. Houston 23, BYU 14.

3:11 – Emmanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan knocked down threes to get the Coogs back in front by double figures. Houston 31, BYU 18.

1:24 – BYU couldn’t get any momentum on their side. They had a strong defensive possession, but then Emmanuel Sharp drew a foul on Dawson Baker. One possession later, Houston picks off BYU, leading to a Sharp fastbreak layup. Houston 37, BYU 20.

28.5 – ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said he would “like to see more toughness from BYU in the second half” after Houston’s LJ Cryer knocked down a three-pointer. Houston 40, BYU 20.

Halftime: Houston 41, BYU 20

Houston finished the half on a 13-2 run in the final 3:29. BYU went 2:24 without a bucket.

Second Half

15:26 – BYU cut the deficit by three. Keba Keita started the half strong with a pair of emphatic slam dunks. Houston 45, BYU 28.

13:26 – Keba Keita is carrying BYU basketball in the second half. He’s scored eight points and had back-to-back blocked shots. Keita brought the intensity that BYU lacked to open the game. The Cougars in blue put together an 8-0 run over 3:48.

Houston was on a four-minute scoring drought. Houston 45, BYU 32.

11:49 – Emmanuel Sharp buried a three in an ATO play call. Then LJ Cryer grabbed a steal against Trevin Knell, leading to another Sharp three-pointer from deep. Houston 51, BYU 34.

7:03 – Houston built up a game-high 22-point lead before Egor Demin got an and-one, and then Dawson Baker hit a three. The three-pointer from Baker was only the third attempt from beyond the arc in the second half. It was the fourth made three in the game. Houston is showing its strength by taking away Richie Saunders’s ability to drive to the basket. Houston 60, BYU 44.

3:46 – ESPN’s Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla began having big-picture conversations about Egor Demin’s NBA future, the entertaining nature of BYU-Iowa State in the first half, and BYU’s ability to build something “monstrous” in the future under Kevin Young in Provo. Those conversations occurred because there wasn’t much to discuss on the court. Houston 67, BYU 49.

Final: Houston 74, BYU 54

Up next for BYU basketball

BYU is expected to be a lock for an at-large bid in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show is on CBS on Sunday at 4 p.m. (MDT).

BYU can only land in Thursday/Saturday quadrants in Denver, Colorado; Wichita, Kansas; Lexington, Kentucky; or Providence, Rhode Island.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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