What was the key to Houston’s defensive success Saturday evening in its 88-57 round of 32 thrashing of Texas A&M?
Just playing Cougar defense.
“I mean, I’ve been watching our defense all year. I don’t know that anything we did was out of the ordinary,” coach Kelvin Sampson said following the win.
Houston held Texas A&M to just 34.6% shooting from the floor and 25% from 3-point range, with only six makes the entire game.
The Aggies’ starting five combined to shoot just 8-for-30 on field goal attempts and totaled 26 points.
As a team, they were limited to more than 30 points below their season average of 87.7 entering Saturday.
Houston outrebounded Texas A&M by 17, including hauling in seven more defensive rebounds, limiting the Aggies’ opportunities on the offensive end.
“This year’s team is no different than last year’s team,” Sampson said. “It’s just we have different players on this year’s team. We got four freshmen that had to learn how to play Cougar basketball.”
Houston’s two starting freshmen, guard Kingston Flemings and forward Chris Cenac Jr., have adapted well to the NCAA Tournament environment during their first two games, making an impact in any way they can.
Flemings didn’t have the scoring array he did against No. 15-seeded Idaho, but tallied five rebounds, four assists, one block and a steal.
Cenac followed up a career-high 18 rebounds on Thursday with 17 points and nine rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.
The Cougars as a whole hauled in 10 more offensive rebounds, including a trip down the floor where they recorded three in the span of 15 seconds.
“We just had great effort. I really felt in the first half we were playing harder than them,” redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp said. “Usually when we play harder than the other team, we’re going to win. So, you know, I felt really good about our effort tonight.”
Houston’s effort landed it a seventh consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, extending its nation-best streak.
For Houston, making this Sweet 16 might be a bit sweeter.
One of the results of Houston being placed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament is that the South Regional will take place at Toyota Center, a less-than-three-mile drive from Fertitta Center.
Sampson and company refrained from looking beyond the opponent ahead of them to the second weekend, as they still had to win their way there to make playing in Houston a reality.
Both of those wins were by 31 points, with Houston delivering Texas A&M and Idaho their largest margins of defeat this season.
Saturday night’s rout gave Houston its fifth-consecutive 30-win season, a stretch that has seen Houston go 162-26, for an 86% winning percentage.
Two of the three other schools have already booked their trips to Houston: Nebraska and Illinois, which the Cougars will face on Thursday, with a time yet to be determined.
The fourth school will be determined Sunday, when No. 1 seed Florida takes on No. 9 seed Iowa at 6:10 p.m. CT.
“Coogs, it’s time to do what you did for the Texas Bowl and show up,” athletic director Eddie Nuñez said on X. “Go get your tickets and let’s make the Toyota Center all Coogs!”
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