No. 2 Houston Beats No. 11 Baylor as CBB Fans Hype OT Thriller as Game of the Year
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVFebruary 24, 2024
In a contest heralded by many as the best game of the 2023-24 men's college basketball season, the No. 2 Houston Cougars held off the No. 11 Baylor Bears 82-76 in overtime at Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
Houston led 41-25 at halftime and seemed to be in firm control, but Baylor staged a furious comeback in the second half, outscoring the Cougars 44-28 to force overtime.
The game nearly ended in dramatic fashion at the end of regulation, as Baylor center Yves Missi missed a go-ahead free throw with 4.4 seconds remaining, and Houston guard Jamal Shead seemingly hit a long three at the buzzer:
However, after review, it was determined that the ball was still on Shead's fingertips when time ran out, so the game went to OT.
In the extra session, Houston led 73-72 with 2:14 remaining, at which point the Cougars reeled off eight consecutive points to put the game away.
Given the back-and-forth nature of the matchup and the buzzer beater that wasn't, college basketball fans lauded Saturday's game on social media with several calling it the best game in the college ranks this season:
As is usually the case for head coach Kelvin Sampson's Houston team, the Cougars won with a balanced attack, as Emanuel Sharp, J'Wan Roberts, L.J. Cryer and Shead all scored between 12 and 18 points.
Meanwhile, the Bears wasted a pair of 20-point games, as Ja'Kobe Walter led all scorers with 23 and Rayj Dennis finished with 21.
With the win, Houston improved to 24-3 on the season and 11-3 in Big 12 play, earning it a ton of respect from college basketball analysts:
Jeff Borzello @jeffborzelloFINAL: No. 2 Houston 82, No. 11 Baylor 76. In overtime. In Waco.<br><br>Incredible first half from Houston, great comeback from Baylor, Houston closes it out in OT.<br><br>Cougars make case for No. 1 with wins this week over Iowa State and Baylor — arguably their two best of the season.
With both No. 1 UConn and No. 3 Purdue losing over the past week, there is a strong possibility that the Cougars could be the No. 1 team in the nation in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll next week.
Houston beat No. 6 Iowa State and No. 11 Baylor in back-to-back games, which suggests it has what it takes to go the distance in the NCAA tournament.
The selection committee already listed Houston as a No. 1 seed in its early March Madness preview, but Saturday's win suggests the Cougars are in a position to be the No. 1 overall seed.
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