The third-ranked Houston Cougars have found a measure of stability on the road in the Big 12, a development that represents how much growth they have undergone after opening the conference slate with consecutive road losses.
With their 67-62 road win over the Cincinnati Bearcats on Feb. 10, the Cougars (21-3, 8-3 Big 12) entered a much-needed break on a high note and set the stage to extend their run of success at the Fertitta Center when they host the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.
Houston owns an 18-game home-court winning streak.
“This has been a tough stretch for us because we’ve had so many road games,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We had two road games at Texas and at Kansas. That’s a tough road week. … And then at Cincinnati. That’s three out of four on the road and we won two of three.”
Houston, which already owns a 76-72 overtime win over the Longhorns this season, can seize an enviable spot in the conference standings with a victory. The Cougars are tied with the Iowa State Cyclones for first place in the Big 12, one game up on both the Baylor Bears and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Continued success at home would serve the Cougars well down the stretch.
“The key is we haven’t lost any home games yet,” Sampson said. “You can. You could lose any game you play. That’s why the thing that I keep preaching to this group is stay humble and keep working hard.
“We don’t get too high with this stuff and we don’t overreact to our losses.”
In the immediate aftermath of a 70-65 loss to the Cyclones on Feb. 6, Texas coach Rodney Terry lamented the Longhorns’ offensive effort, particularly Texas’ 19-point first half.
But upon video review, Terry saw something different. The Longhorns’ offensive flow pleased him, especially considering the Cyclones’ defensive might. Texas generated good looks at the basket but the shots didn’t fall.
The misfiring on offense affected the defense before intermission, but once the Longhorns (16-8, 5-6 Big 12) started making shots, their overall performance coalesced.
The Longhorns carried the momentum created in the second half against Iowa State into their following contest, a 94-58 home victory over West Virginia on Feb. 10. Texas set a program record for a Big 12 game with 28 assists and matched a season low with only five turnovers.
Confirming the unselfish approach to offense, all five starters scored in double figures against the Mountaineers, paced by senior forward Dylan Disu and his game-high 27 points. Junior Tyrese Hunter paired 19 points with a season-high-tying seven assists and senior Max Abmas had 19 points and set a season high with nine assists.
Sophomores Chendall Weaver and Dillon Mitchell posted 13 and 12 points, respectively, and both recorded four assists.
Terry needed that video study to uncover what Texas did well in its loss to Iowa State. The offensive display against West Virginia was so impressive that the lauding came much quicker.
“I thought we played one of our best offensive games this year in terms of sharing the ball and not letting the ball stick,” Terry said. “Good flow to our offense.”
– Field Level Media