Houston fends off Middle Tennessee 69-60, leaves Sampson wanting more

For most of the night, Middle Tennessee tried all it could to keep No. 8 Houston men’s basketball from establishing its physical identity.

Despite fending off Middle Tennessee and leading by as much as 16 in the second half, Houston couldn’t impose itself further, letting the Blue Raiders claw back as they often did, in the Cougars’ 69-60 win on Monday night.

The win was mired in disappointment, as Houston felt it was beaten at its own brand of basketball.

“It hurts my heart to say this, but I just thought they played harder than we did,” coach Kelvin Sampson said after the game. “Thought they outhustled us, they outscrapped us. They were the aggressor.”

That approach was evident on the boards.

For the fourth time this season and first time at home, Houston lost the rebounding battle, finishing with 31 rebounds to Middle Tennessee’s 33.

The last time a non-power four opponent outrebounded Houston at home was over three years ago, when Saint Mary’s stymied the Cougars 36-27 on Dec. 3, 2022.

It’s just not something that happens often under Sampson. 

Sampson’s message and the reality of their performance resonated with Houston’s veteran guards, redshirt senior Emanuel Sharp and senior Milos Uzan. Both acknowledged they didn’t meet key standards of the program.

“Like coach (Sampson) said, I thought they were the aggressor tonight, especially to start the game. They were killing us on the boards,” Sharp said. “We can’t start like that, and we’ve just got to be better.” 

Middle Tennessee’s aggression extended beyond the arc, where it shot 11-for-28 from 3-point range, including nailing five triples within the first 12 minutes of the game. 

Houston on the other hand shot just 6-for-20, and struggled with efficiency overall, shooting just 40.7 percent as a whole.

The most efficient player to see the floor for Houston was sophomore guard Mercy Miller, who shot 4-for-6 and was a silver lining on a night where there wasn’t much praise to go around.

“There’s certain parts of the game Mercy struggles in, but Mercy’s improved so much,” Sampson said.

He added that Miller was “probably the only bright spot” for Houston. 

If there was another one, it’d be the Cougars forcing 19 Blue Raider turnovers for 30 points, while only turning the ball over six times themselves.

It helped keep Houston ahead, but not in complete control of the game.

“We’re good enough to go up by a lot, but you’ve got to earn that,” Sampson said. “So it’s a valuable lesson if we learn from it.” 

This iteration of the Cougars has come with more learning moments than perhaps any other Sampson has coached during his tenure in Houston. In large part, it’s due to the three freshmen it plays constantly. That includes two starters in forward Chris Cenac Jr. and guard Kingston Flemings.

That’s also why leading and approaching every day, and game, with the right mindset matters more to those entrusted with setting the tone, especially as Houston leans on youth in pivotal roles. 

“I think it starts with the seniors and me,” Sharp said. “We’ve got to do a better job of coming out with the right mindset and doing a better job leading these guys. Because at the end of the day, they’re following us.”

Flemings was Houston’s leading scorer, totaling 15 points, alongside five assists on zero turnovers. 

In the first half, his steal off of graduate guard Sean Smith led to an and-one by Junior forward JoJo Tugler to commence what was a 10-0 run for Houston.

That run wound up the difference in what was only a nine-point victory.

It accentuates Sampson’s message that Houston was capable of getting a sizable lead, going on shutdown runs, but didn’t play hard and consistently enough to keep it, or its standard.

“I have high standards around here, for effort. I don’t ever want to lose that. It is a surefire way to know when you’re done,” Sampson said. “I’ll walk out the door if I can’t get my teams to play hard.”

The Cougars know that the margin for error will only shrink as conference play begins.

“Coming into the Big 12, it’s going to be a fight every game, so you’ve got to make sure you bring it, or you’re going to lose,” Uzan said.

Houston next travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, to face the Bearcats on Saturday, Jan. 3, inside Fifth Third Arena at 1 p.m. CT to open up Big 12 play.