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Kyler Edwards' 25 points leads Houston to 82-68 first round NCAA Tournament win over UAB

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UPDATED: March 19, 2022 -- 10:35 a.m. CT

POSTED: March 19, 2022 -- 12:55 a.m. CT

PITTSBURGH, PA -- (PPG Paints Arena)

The 5th-seed Houston Cougars men's basketball team defeated the 12-seed UAB Blazers 82-68 Friday night in the First Round in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Houston will face 4-seed Illinois at 11:20 a.m. (CT) on CBS, on Sunday, March 20, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Kyler Edwards led Houston with a game-high 25 points. Edwards and teammate Fabian White Jr set the tone for the Cougars in the first half. White scored Houston's first six points of the game and 8 of the team's first 13 points.

Edwards made five of 6 three-point shots in the opening half and scored 17 points in the first 20 minutes. Houston's offense was stellar; however, Houston's defense was less than stellar in the first half.

UAB made 8 of their final 9 field goal attempts in the first half and shot 61.5% from the floor (16 for 26) in the first half. Tavin Lovan scored 9 points in the first half to lead UAB.

Despite making 9 of 14 three-point shots in the first half, Houston (30-5 overall) led by only nine points (46-37) at halftime. Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson was not thrilled with his team's defense in the first half.

"First half, I think we were kind of getting caught up in our own offense and just weren't playing defense the way we're capable," Coach Sampson said after the game.

"I thought getting into half time was important because we had to kind of reacquaint ourselves with who we were defensively."

UAB scored 1.233 points per possession in the first half.


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UAB made 10 of 30 field goals in the second half. The Blazers scored 0.939 points per possession in the second half.

"Defensively, second half, I thought we were outstanding in just about every facet, our ball screen coverages, side pick-and-roll, mid pick-and-roll, our shot contest, defensive rebounding," Coach Sampson remarked.

Fabian White made a jump shot to begin the scoring in the second half; but, UAB scored 4 straight points to cut Houston's lead to 48-41. UAB got within 8 points two other times in the second half; but, Houston did not get rattled and did not get any closer in the second half.

White said Houston's veteran squad helped maintain composure when UAB made a run in the second half.

"We just have a lot of veterans, so we don't get too high, too low," White said after the game. "And, we know they're a good team, so they are going to get on a run eventually. So, we just have to stay even keel and just defend like we've been doing."

White finished the game with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Houston point guard Jamal Shead was solid on both ends of the floor with 12 points, 7 assists, and good defense on UAB point guard Jordan "Jelly" Walker.

"Can't say enough about Jamal Shead and the job he did on Jordan Walker," Coach Sampson commented. "Our kids certainly heard enough about him. Rightfully so. Most of it came from us telling them how good he was. Because he is good."

Houston only had 7 turnovers in the ball game. UAB's pressure defense did not bother Houston in the game.

"They pressed us," Coach Sampson said of UAB. "And things that helped us against their press was we just played Memphis (on Sunday, March 20). Memphis plays very similar. They press into a 2-3. They press into 1-3-1. Different, and we just saw that."

"But, you know, it's a good win," Coach Sampson added. "You want to win your first one. And the fact that it represented this team's 30th win. This team is 30-5. I don't know if I've had ever a team I'm as proud of as this bunch for everything that they've had to overcome. But also proud because of how they've grown. Growth. Growth is important for a basketball team. You have to grow. But you have to grow together."

Edwards finished the game with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Edwards made 6 of 8 three-point attempts. Josh Carlton added 12 points; and, Taze Moore filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 0 zero turnovers.

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