#17 Houston basketball got back on track in style at Fertitta Center, beating up Butler 79-51 in the Big 12-Big East Challenge.
This was a much needed win for the Cougars, who had an offensive explosion in the second half. With the win, graduate forward J’Wan Roberts became the all time winningest player in Houston basketball program history with his 122nd victory.
“I saw a lot of purposeful basketball…the one difference tonight was our discipline,” coach Kelvin Sampson said.
The Cougars got out to a quick start with a defensive stop and junior point guard Milos Uzan hit a step back three on the first possession. Sophomore forward Joseph Tugler was in the starting lineup as Ja’Vier Francis came off the bench.
Redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp found him for an easy dunk, and then hits a three on a later possession as UH jumped out to an early 8-1 lead.
Houston’s bench with freshman guard Mercy Miller and sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux made a couple midrange shots, and UH had their largest lead at 14-3. Back to back threes from senior forward Patrick McCaffery cut the lead down to six at 18-12 with five minutes to go in the first half.
Houston answered right back on a quick driving layup from Francis followed by a turnover and fast-break bucket from Uzan for the 22-12 advantage. Butler still kept it close before halftime, but a great pass from Uzan to J’Wan Roberts for the slam kept the lead at 10 halfway through 28-18. The Bulldogs only shot 20% from the field in the first half, and the Cougars had 14 paint points compared to none for Butler.
Graduate guard LJ Cryer stepped up early in the second half with a key seven points including a couple three’s that kept the Houston lead in double digits. Uzan continued his strong offensive performance with a floater and UH continued to pull away. Sharp put a man on the ground with a jumper and Arceneaux threw down a slam off a turnover as Fertitta Center went on its feet. UH had built their largest lead of the game till that point at 52-34. Houston dominated in the end as Sharp continued to be on fire from downtown.
#1: Milos Uzan and the offense improving
The Houston offense put together their best second half performance of the season, with 51 points in the last 20 minutes. UH shot 67% in the second half and made 7/11 threes. Overall, the Cougars were 53% from the field and 50% (9/18) from three while perfect from the free throw line (6/6). Houston had four players in double digits, including Cryer who led the way with 20 points, 18 of them in the second half. Sharp added 13 of his 16 points in the last 20 minutes, along with 14 points from Arceneaux off the bench. Point guard Milos Uzan looked comfortable with 13 points as the offense was clean early with ball movement.
“We ran the same stuff, we just executed and the ball went through the basket,” Cryer said.
Takeaway #2: Suffocating UH defense at home
The Cougars got back to their dominating defense at Fertitta Center and completely halted a Butler offense that came in shooting 48% from the field. The Bulldogs were limited to just a poor 28% overall (13/46) and Houston beat Butler up on the boards as well 41-29 and 13-7 on the offensive glass. J’Wan Roberts made his presence felt early with a couple of strong blocks. Houston is 5-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
Sampson mentioned how Butler was a difficult team to guard but came in with a solid game plan. Sampson also said how it was difficult to correct those little things during a tournament and needed to come home.
Takeaway #3: Patrick McCaffery for Butler
The 6’9 forward was keeping this game close for the Bulldogs with his threes and timely buckets. However, the Cougars were just on fire this game and their defensive effort was overwhelming.
Next up for Houston (5-3): vs. Troy (5-3) – Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. EST
Next up for Butler (7-2): vs. North Dakota State (7-4) – Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. EST
[…] is the Houston team we know and expect. After the poor showing at the Players Era, Houston looked dominant at home against Butler. The defense looked legit, and the offense was prevalent. […]