INDIANAPOLIS — With 2.8 seconds remaining with the score tied in a Sweet 16 game Friday, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson called a clever baseline inbounds play that will long be replayed on March highlight reels.
Cougars wing Milos Uzan inbounded the ball to forward Joseph Tugler about eight feet from the basket. Tugler, immediately realizing that Purdue guard Braden Smith fled his spot guarding the inbounder, dropped a quick pass back to the unguarded Uzan, who leaped unimpeded to the basket and laid the ball in.
The shot delivered No. 1 Houston to a 62-60 win over the No. 4 Boilermakers. It was give, go, lay-in and win for one of this NCAA tournament’s most memorable moments.
“That was beautiful,” Uzan said of the way the play unfolded. “Especially in a moment like this, Sweet 16 to go to the Elite Eight.”
The winning shot capped a 22-point night for Uzan, gave Sampson one of the signature wins of his career and propelled the top-seeded Cougars to a matchup with No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday. For a Houston program that has reached six consecutive Sweet 16s, the moment will resonate as one of the most indelible amid a gilded run for the program.
“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,” Houston assistant coach Kellen Sampson said.
Houston squandered a 10-point lead in the final eight minutes, as Purdue tied the score with a Camden Heide 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. It came on a sweet dish from Smith, who finished with 15 assists, and only because Tugler cheated off Heide in the corner to leave him open.
That set the stage for Houston’s final possession, which saw a missed shot by Uzan and missed tip by Tugler before the ball was deflected out of bounds off Purdue. An official review confirmed the ball belonged to Houston and gave the Cougars a chance to set up the winning play.
Cougars players and coaches declined to reveal the play’s name in the locker room afterward, but it is a play that they run plenty.
Kellen Sampson said the Houston staff had initially thought about an inbounds play that was some type of lob to the rim. But he said his father, whom he refers to endearingly as “Chief,” overruled them and wanted to use dynamic guard L.J. Cryer as a decoy, even as Cryer fought through a 2-for-13 shooting night.
Tugler started the chain reaction that led to the open layup by setting a sturdy screen on Purdue’s C.J. Cox, who was guarding Cryer. Sampson told Tugler, “Make sure you hit him,” since officials rarely call an off-ball foul in those situations.
Tugler, who is 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, hit Cox hard enough on the screen that Smith, who was guarding the inbounder, darted to the opposite corner to cover Cryer to make sure he didn’t get an open shot.
Tugler then darted the opposite way, where Uzan hit him with the inbounds pass at the midpoint of the lane. Tugler’s instincts then kicked in, as he realized no one was guarding Uzan and immediately dropped a slick bounce pass back to him.
“It was an instinct play,” Tugler said. “I can pass the ball. I trusted myself, and I trusted [Uzan].”
Tugler grew up playing on outdoor courts with chain-link nets in Monroe, Louisiana. And Kellen Sampson complimented how that background led to the play.
“Nobody on our team has played on outdoor courts more than Jo,” Kellen Sampson said. “And so the fact that was an instinctive play, that’s him. We got a lot of guys that have personal trainers. Joe’s personal trainer was a blacktop court and a double rim.”
Uzan capped the play with an easy, two-handed finish, as Cox was late to challenge the shot after Smith switched to his man. Kelvin Sampson said once Tugler slipped down from his screen, his biggest worry was Uzan standing flat-footed and watching the play.
“Don’t be a neutral observer and stand out of bounds and wonder what Jo’s going to do,” Kelvin Sampson said. “Make sure you get both feet inbounds so when you catch it.”
Smith explained that he vacated Uzan because he’d seen the play on film and didn’t want Cryer to hit a shot in the corner.
“I could have stayed,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of different things that could have went into it. I just didn’t want Cryer coming off to hit that shot.”
Instead, Uzan capped a night where he hit a career high six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points with his biggest basket. On a night when Houston’s offense struggled in spots, as it shot just 38% from the field, everything unfolded in perfect order for the last field goal to go down.
“We didn’t have our best,” Kellen Sampson said. “To win six [NCAA tournament games], you’re going to have to win one where the gun doesn’t fire right.”
