Tuesday, January 13
Houston, Texas
8:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
11-6,2-2Big 12
48
at
77
Houston
16-1,4-0Big 12
1
2
F
West Virginia
18
30
48
Houston
33
44
77
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
West Virginia Falls on the Road at No. 7 Houston
January 13, 2026 11:27 PM | Men's Basketball
Seventh-ranked Houston used some suffocating defense to defeat West Virginia 77-48 Tuesday night at the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas.
The Cougars (16-1, 4-0) held the Mountaineers (11-6, 2-2) to just two field goals over a 15-minute stretch to begin the game and never trailed.
West Virginia's most effective offensive stretch came early in the second half when Brenen Lorient and Treysen Eaglestaff strung together 3s and Lorient added a layup, reducing Houston's lead to 11, 38-27. But the Cougars responded with an eight-point flurry to push the lead back to 19, and it eventually swelled to 31 with seven minutes remaining.
A couple of Amir Jenkins baskets sandwiched between Honor Huff's three free throws made up the Mountaineers' other spurt of the second half.
Overall, West Virginia shot just 37% from the floor (17 of 46) and turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 17 Cougar points.
Houston had a 38-to-29 edge on the glass and made six more free throws than the 10 that West Virginia attempted.
"When you come in here to beat a team like this, you've got to have special performances from multiple people and we didn't get that tonight," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said.
Milos Uzan led a balanced Cougar attack with 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Emanuel Sharp tallied 13 while Joseph Tugler and Kingston Flemings contributed 10 each.
"You've got to come in here and get off to a good start," Hodge observed. "Ironically, we had a couple looks early and you get to the foul line and we miss both. You turn the corner a couple times and have layups at the basket when you did have them a little spread out and we kind of short-armed it and then you do start feeling the squeeze.
"You start playing a little faster and they are an elite defense and an elite team," Hodge added. "That's what elite defenses do, they make it so hard on you that when you do finally get an open shot, you're rushing it a little bit."
Freshman D.J. Thomas came off the bench to lead West Virginia with 16 points. Huff added 13 points but managed to make just 2 of 9 from 3-point distance.
Hodge was impressed with his freshman forward in his Lone Star State return.
"He saved us in the first half, honestly, and both of his back cuts he went up and dunked it, and that's what you've got to do in here," he said. "You can't be in here and flip balls at the basket because they are so physical around the rim and they have such great length. When you do get it close to the basket, you better dunk it and that was good to see that from him."
Houston has won all four meetings against West Virginia since the Cougars joined the Big 12 in 2024, including three of them in Houston.
West Virginia returns to the Coliseum on Saturday night to face Colorado in a 6 p.m. game that will be televised nationally on CBSSN.
Tickets remain for the contest and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The Cougars (16-1, 4-0) held the Mountaineers (11-6, 2-2) to just two field goals over a 15-minute stretch to begin the game and never trailed.
West Virginia's most effective offensive stretch came early in the second half when Brenen Lorient and Treysen Eaglestaff strung together 3s and Lorient added a layup, reducing Houston's lead to 11, 38-27. But the Cougars responded with an eight-point flurry to push the lead back to 19, and it eventually swelled to 31 with seven minutes remaining.
A couple of Amir Jenkins baskets sandwiched between Honor Huff's three free throws made up the Mountaineers' other spurt of the second half.
Overall, West Virginia shot just 37% from the floor (17 of 46) and turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 17 Cougar points.
Houston had a 38-to-29 edge on the glass and made six more free throws than the 10 that West Virginia attempted.
"When you come in here to beat a team like this, you've got to have special performances from multiple people and we didn't get that tonight," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said.
Milos Uzan led a balanced Cougar attack with 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Emanuel Sharp tallied 13 while Joseph Tugler and Kingston Flemings contributed 10 each.
"You've got to come in here and get off to a good start," Hodge observed. "Ironically, we had a couple looks early and you get to the foul line and we miss both. You turn the corner a couple times and have layups at the basket when you did have them a little spread out and we kind of short-armed it and then you do start feeling the squeeze.
"You start playing a little faster and they are an elite defense and an elite team," Hodge added. "That's what elite defenses do, they make it so hard on you that when you do finally get an open shot, you're rushing it a little bit."
Freshman D.J. Thomas came off the bench to lead West Virginia with 16 points. Huff added 13 points but managed to make just 2 of 9 from 3-point distance.
Hodge was impressed with his freshman forward in his Lone Star State return.
"He saved us in the first half, honestly, and both of his back cuts he went up and dunked it, and that's what you've got to do in here," he said. "You can't be in here and flip balls at the basket because they are so physical around the rim and they have such great length. When you do get it close to the basket, you better dunk it and that was good to see that from him."
Houston has won all four meetings against West Virginia since the Cougars joined the Big 12 in 2024, including three of them in Houston.
West Virginia returns to the Coliseum on Saturday night to face Colorado in a 6 p.m. game that will be televised nationally on CBSSN.
Tickets remain for the contest and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Team Stats
WVU
UH
FG%
.370
.431
3FG%
.360
.314
FT%
.500
.762
RB
29
38
TO
15
7
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballRoss Hodge | Houston Postgame
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