HOUSTON (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 22 points and No. 3 Houston won its ninth straight game with a 65-59 victory over Kansas on Monday night.
Emanuel Sharp added 12 points off the bench, including two free throws that pushed Houston's lead to 63-59 with 20 seconds left. The Cougars (26-4, 18-1 Big 12) went 4 of 4 from the foul line down the stretch.
Cryer had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the first half as Houston took a 30-27 lead into the break.
Milos Uzan finished with 10 points for the Cougars, who had already clinched their second consecutive outright Big 12 regular-season title. Mylik Wilson had 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Houston shot 35% from the field and was 7 of 20 on 3-pointers.
Hunter Dickinson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the scuffling Jayhawks (19-11, 10-9), who shot 45%. KJ Adams Jr. added 15 points and David Coit had 14 off the bench.
Takeaways
Kansas: The Jayhawks fell to 3-3 against top-10 teams and 4-3 versus AP Top 25 teams this season.
Houston: The Cougars won for the 22nd time in 23 games and continued to boost their resume for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, improving to 8-4 in Quad 1 matchups.
Key moment
After Sharp’s two free throws, Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. slipped while trying to catch the inbounds pass, and Cryer stole it. He was fouled and made two free throws to ice the win.
Key stat
Houston forced 20 turnovers and converted them into 18 points.
Up next
Houston visits Baylor on Saturday to close the regular season. Kansas hosts No. 24 Arizona the same day.