The Houston Cougars are rolling-and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down.
Winners of five straight and 16 of their last 17, the third-ranked Cougars are set to return home Saturday to face a reeling Kansas State squad in Big 12 play. Houston has been nearly untouchable at the Fertitta Center, riding a 17-game home win streak into the weekend, and their latest performance only reinforced why they’re one of the most dangerous teams in the country right now.
Houston’s 66-52 road win over Utah on Tuesday wasn’t just another notch in the win column-it was a showcase of what makes this team so difficult to beat. The Cougars didn’t need a full team scoring barrage.
Instead, they leaned on sharp-shooting junior guard Emanuel Sharp, who put on a clinic with 27 points and a career-best eight three-pointers. That performance pushed him past Marcus Sasser as the school’s all-time leader in made threes with 277.
“I was just shooting,” Sharp said postgame, keeping it simple. “There was no complicated science behind it.”
But make no mistake-Sharp’s success is no accident. It’s been fueled in large part by Houston’s unselfish backcourt, led by point guards Kingston Flemings and Milos Uzan.
Their ability to create open looks and keep the offense flowing has been a huge part of the Cougars’ identity this season. And when Sharp is dialed in like he was in Salt Lake City, Houston becomes incredibly tough to contain.
What made Tuesday’s win even more impressive was that Sharp was the only Cougar to reach double figures. Yet Houston still built a 22-point lead in the second half and coasted to victory.
That’s a testament to their defense, which suffocated Utah’s shooters and limited the Utes to just 2-of-17 from deep-an ice-cold 11.8%. It was Utah’s lowest scoring output of the season, and it came against a Houston team that’s made a habit of turning good offenses into frustrated ones.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson had high praise for Sharp after the win, and it’s easy to see why.
“Every team Emanuel has played on has won a conference championship,” Sampson said. “He's played in Final Fours, Elite Eights, Sweet 16s.
All he's done is win. He’s made this program better.”
Sharp is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, trailing only standout freshman Kingston Flemings, who leads the team with 16.6 points per contest. Together, they’ve become a dynamic one-two punch for a Houston squad that’s not just winning games-they’re dictating the terms.
Meanwhile, Kansas State is heading in the opposite direction.
The Wildcats are mired in a five-game losing streak and have dropped 10 of their last 11. Their latest setback-a 91-62 blowout loss at home to Cincinnati-was another low point in a season full of them. Kansas State shot just 40.3% from the field and a paltry 24% from three, connecting on only 6 of 25 from long range.
P.J. Haggerty, who ranks second in the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game, did what he could with a 24-point outing.
But the help wasn’t there. The Wildcats were down 22 at the break and trailed by as many as 32 in the second half.
Head coach Jerome Tang didn’t hold back afterward, calling out his team’s lack of effort and pride.
“They got to have some pride,” Tang said. “It means something to wear a K-State uniform.
These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year.”
It’s been a brutal stretch for Kansas State, whose 1-10 record in Big 12 play matches their worst start in conference history-a dubious mark they last hit in 1999-2000 and again in 2020-21.
So now, the Wildcats walk into a buzzsaw. Houston is surging, locked in on both ends of the floor, and playing with the kind of swagger that comes from winning-and winning big. With the Cougars’ defense smothering opponents and their offense finding rhythm even when the scoring load falls on just one or two shoulders, they’re looking every bit like a team built for a deep March run.
Saturday’s matchup may be just another regular-season game on the calendar, but for Houston, it’s another opportunity to flex their dominance. For Kansas State, it’s a chance-however slim-to show some fight and start shifting the narrative. But make no mistake: they’ll need their best performance of the season just to keep it close.