Houston coach Kelvin Sampson called a brilliant baseline inbounds play with 2.8 seconds left in a Sweet 16 game on Friday that will be shown on March highlight reels for years to come.
The Cougars’ wing About eight feet from the basket, Milos Uzan jumped the ball to forward Joseph Tugler. As soon as Tugler saw that Purdue guard Braden Smith had left his position protecting the inbounder, he quickly passed the ball back to the unprotected Uzan, who jumped unhindered to the hoop and put it in.
No. 1 Houston defeated the No. 4 Boilermakers 62-60 thanks to the shot. One of the most memorable moments of this NCAA tournament was give, go, layin, and win.
“That was beautiful,” Uzan said of the play’s development, “especially in a moment like this, sweet 16 to go to the Elite Eight.”
The game-winning basket completed Uzan’s 22-point performance, giving Sampson one of his most memorable victories, and helped the top-seeded Cougars advance to Sunday’s game against No. 2 Tennessee. The moment will be remembered as one of the most memorable in the program’s illustrious career, as Houston has advanced to six straight Sweet 16s.
According to Houston assistant coach Kellen Sampson, “Given the stakes, given what was at play here, given the fact that we’ve been in this moment two consecutive years and couldn’t quite get over the hump,”
Purdue leveled the score with a 3-pointer from Camden Heide with 35 seconds remaining after Houston wasted a 10-point lead in the last eight minutes. It only happened because Tugler cheated off Heide in the corner to leave him free, and it came on a lovely dish from Smith, who finished with 15 assists.
That prepared the way for Houston’s last possession, in which Tugler missed a tip and Uzan missed a jumper before the ball was deflected off Purdue and out of bounds. The Cougars had an opportunity to set up the game-winning play after an official review verified that the ball belonged to Houston.
The Cougars run this play a lot, but the coaches and players refused to say its name in the locker room afterwards.
According to Kellen Sampson, the Houston staff first contemplated an inbounds play that involved a lob to the rim. Even though talented guard L.J. Cryer battled through a 2-for-13 shooting night, he said his father, whom he affectionately calls “Chief,” overruled them and wanted to utilize Cryer as a decoy.
Tugler’s solid screen on Purdue’s C.J. Cox, who was defending Cryer, set off the series of events that resulted in the open layup. “Make sure you hit him,” Sampson advised Tugler, because officials hardly ever call an off-ball foul in certain circumstances.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Tugler struck Cox hard enough on the screen that Smith, the inbounder’s guard, sprinted to the other corner to cover Cryer and prevent him from getting an open shot.
Uzan struck Tugler with the inbounds pass at the middle of the lane after he darted in the other direction. Then Tugler’s instincts took over, and he dropped a silky bounce pass back to Uzan as soon as he saw no one was watching him.
“It was an instinct play,” commented Tugler. I’m able to pass the ball. In addition to [Uzan], I trusted myself.
Tugler grew up in Monroe, Louisiana, playing on chain-link net outdoor courts. Kellen Sampson also praised the way the play was influenced by that heritage.
Kellen Sampson remarked, “Jo has played on outdoor courts more than anyone else on our team.” That’s him, and the fact that it was an instinctive play. Many of the men in our group have personal trainers. A double rim and a blacktop court served as Joe’s personal trainer.
After Smith shifted to his man, Cox was late to contest the shot, and Uzan finished the play with an easy two-handed finish. According to Kelvin Sampson, his main concern was Uzan standing flat-footed and observing the play after Tugler slipped down from his screen.
“Don’t be a neutral observer and stand out of bounds and wonder what Jo’s going to do,” warned Kelvin Sampson. “Make sure you get both feet inbounds so when you catch it.”
Smith clarified that he had seen the play on film and didn’t want Cryer to hit a shot in the corner, which is why he evacuated Uzan.
Smith remarked, “I could have stayed,” “A wide range of factors could have contributed to it. I simply didn’t want Cryer to hit that shot after coming off.”
Instead, Uzan made his largest basket to conclude a night in which he made a game-high 22 points and a career-high six 3-pointers. Everything went according to plan for the final field goal to be made on a night when Houston’s offense labored in places and only made 38% of its field goals.
“We didn’t have our best,” Kellen Sampson stated. “To win six [NCAA tournament games], you’re going to have to win one where the gun doesn’t fire right.”
