Jamal Shead hits game-winner as No. 1 Houston escapes upset against Oklahoma

Oklahoma was close to an upset of No. 1 Houston on Saturday, but Jamal Shead came through with some late-game heroics. The Sooners had tied the game with 12 seconds to go on a basket from Javian McCollum and just needed a defensive stop to send it to overtime.

They appeared to get it after Shead drove down the court and missed his first shot attempt, but OU couldn’t corral the rebound. It fell back into the hands of Shead, who let a jump shot fly that fell through with 0.1 seconds remaining to clinch the 87-85 win.

You can view the moment below.

Another look at the game-winner by Jamal Shead. Cougars survive Oklahoma, 87-85, UH can clinch at least a share of Big 12 title with a win over UCF on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/RPfYXLMrGO

— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) March 3, 2024

Shead finished the game with 14 points and six assists as Houston went on to win its seventh straight. LJ Cryer led the Cougars with 23 points while J’Wan Roberts added 20.

Saturday marked a return to Norman for Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, who coached the Sooners from 1994-2006 and ranks second in program history with 279 wins. He was introduced to the crowd prior to the game, along with former OU players and current Cougars assistants Hollis Price, Quannas White and Kellen Sampson.

The game remained back-and-forth throughout the first half with 13 lead changes across the first 17 minutes. Houston took a narrow 48-45 advantage into halftime but came out strong in the second to build its lead. The Cougars opened on a 19-7 run to increase their lead to as many as 15 points by the 12-minute mark.

It looked as if things were slipping away from the Sooners, but they would soon wake up.

OU went on a 10-2 run of its own to cut the deficit back down to single digits by the 7:48 mark. It continue to chip away before coming back to tie things up with 12 seconds remaining on the bucket from McCollum.

Sam Godwin led the Sooners with 17 points as he went a perfect 6-for-6 and pulled down seven rebounds in the loss. Jalon Moore added a double-double with 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Both OU and Houston shot over 50% from the field.

Houston improved to 26-3 (13-3 Big 12) with the win and now sits one game ahead of Iowa State for first place in the conference. The Cougars have two more games remaining on the regular season schedule, beginning with a contest against UCF at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.