A big disappointment in Houston and a big surprise in the NCAA. Houston and Emmanuel Sharp ended their road in the college tournament tonight (between Friday and Saturday), earlier than expected, when they suffered an 89:75 loss in the round of 16 against Miami. Sharp played 17 minutes and finished his debut season with 8 points (3-for-8 from the field, 2-for-6 from three) and 2 rebounds.
The University of Houston was marked before the “March Madness” as the favorite to go all the way according to the fans in America, it was ranked first and caused a huge “hype” among its audience in light of the fact that the city is hosting the Final Four – but Kelvin Sampson’s students disappointed against the fifth ranked team and were left with a bitter taste A great torturer. This is the first time in three years that the “Cougars” fail to reach the quarterfinals.
Sharp scored his first three-pointer at 9:05 minutes to the end of the first half and took the lead 22:23. Less than three minutes later, the American-Israeli guard sniped another one from outside to tie the game at 29:29, but missed his next four shots from three. Miami closed the first half excellently, went up 36:42 at the break and at the start of the second half ran away to double digits. The red-whites narrowed it to 51:49, but their opponent exploded with a 4:19 run that closed the matter.
Houston’s talent Jarras Walker who is expected to be selected in the top 10 in the upcoming draft finished with 16 points (4 of 16 from the field), 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks, while the team’s outstanding guard Marcus Sasser was also inaccurate with 14 points in 33%. On the other hand, Nigel Pack scored 26 and the “Hurricanes” will meet Texas or Xavier.
Another surprise happened tonight in the NCAA, when the favorite Alabama surrendered 71:64 to San Diego. Meaning: After the early eliminations of Purdue (first round) and Kansas (second round), this is the first time ever (under the current ranking system that began in 1979) that no top seed is not in the quarterfinals.
Alabama star Brandon Miller, who is going to be selected in the top 5 of the 2023 draft (ranked in the top 3 by some ‘mooks’), closed his college career with 9 points (3 of 19 from the field, 1 of 10 from three), 11 rebounds and 6 turnovers .
FINAL
presented by @thejointchiroAn amazing season comes to an end
Thank you, Coogs
Thank you, @UHouston fans#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/epGFGdssZd— Houston Men’s Hoops ???? ???? (@UHCougarMBK) March 25, 2023