J’Wan Roberts scored a game-high 20 points, including a game-sealing dunk with six seconds left, as No. 5 Houston outlasted Cincinnati 67-62 on Saturday. Jamal Shead added 16 on 6-of-25 shooting for the Cougars (21-3, 8-3 Big 12), who won their 10th straight game against their longtime foe. Both Houston and Cincinnati are in their first season in the Big 12 Conference after leaving the American Athletic Conference in July.
Cincinnati has long viewed itself as a Power Five-caliber program. With two national championships, six Final Four appearances, eight trips to the Elite Eight and more than 1,800 wins all-time, the Bearcats have a resume that stacks up with some of the top-tier programs in college basketball. The move aligns the Bearcats with a conference that has produced two of the last three national champions, including Kansas, the overwhelming No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.