Houston basketball got out to their first 3-0 start to the Big 12 with a critical second half performance to beat the TCU Horned Frogs by almost 20 on Big Monday.
This was UH’s seventh straight win and the seventh straight game where Houston allowed 55 points or fewer, which is the longest streak since 1949. The Cougars also continued their multiple win streaks at home, with it now being 31 straight wins in Fertitta Center and 16 conference wins in a row.
Houston picks up where they left off from three with junior point guard Milos Uzan from the corner and junior guard Emanuel Sharp after a forced turnover. Sharp followed that up with a deep three from top of the key for the early 9-0 lead. The Cougars matched TCU’s scoring in the paint early and created a majority of their points off turnovers. Houston went almost four minutes without scoring before graduate guard Mylik Wilson made a layup after an offensive rebound. UH held TCU to just seven points halfway through the first half.
The Horned Frogs brought it back to just a five point game after going on an 8-2 run with some strong defense and forcing UH into turnovers themselves. TCU were able to attack Houston’s defense in the paint well. Cryer made a second chance jumper and graduate forward J’Wan Roberts scored a layup, but the Horned Frogs answered again before half as the score was 29-22, just a seven point halftime lead for Houston.
The Cougars then woke up with some much needed scoring in the second half and took over for the rest of the game.
Sharp was once again the leading scorer with 14 points, Roberts had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Sophomore forward Joseph Tugler had six rebounds and three blocks.
“A lot of planning goes into our success, but I give most of our credit to our players for their hard work and dedication. Our kids work really hard at it,” head coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Takeaway #1: Timely runs for UH to take control
TCU continued their success to start the second half and cut the lead down to just three with 18 minutes to go. Houston went on a critical 14-4 run to reclaim control. It started with Roberts, but then Sharp made some huge buckets including a fadeaway jumper and three on a fastbreak. Tugler had a couple key blocks in the middle of that sequence that brought the energy and offensive momentum back. The Cougars defense once again helped the offense get good looks. Houston brought their lead up to 18 at 48-30, with 13 minutes to go after a Cryer three.
After the 19 point lead was cut to 12 with just over seven minutes left, Houston responded once again with a much needed 9-0 run. The bench started to make an impact as Mylik Wilson hit a couple buckets followed by Ja’Vier Francis’ second chance tip-in layup that brought the lead over 20. A key facet was the 17 bench points scored compared to only two for TCU.
After only up three early in the second half, the Cougars dominated the rest of the way 36-20 for a comfortable win in the end. UH shot 56% overall from the field during the period and hit nine straight shots at one point. It was a strong effort against what Kelvin Sampson considers to be a top 25 defense from TCU.
Takeaway #2: Defense woke up in the second half
After TCU limited the effect of the Houston defense throughout the first half and early second half, the Horned Frogs were not able to sustain it as the Cougars defense picked up. Two blocks from sophomore forward Joseph Tugler changed the game as it resulted in back to back buckets from Sharp to bring the lead back up to double digits. Tugler also had a steal that brought a bucket from Roberts.
“Our defense is a big part of our offense,” Sampson said.
Overall, the intensity and defensive rebounding improved. The four blocks and steals from Houston in the second half were huge. TCU also struggled from three, making only 1/9 shots in the last 20 minutes (17% for the game) while Houston made 4/7 and shot 42% the entire game from downtown.
Sampson feels comfortable with Sharp, Cryer, Uzan, and Wilson in making those shots. The Horned Frogs also struggled with turnovers, as they had a season high 19 total which resulted in 16 points. TCU had eight turnovers compared to just three for Houston in the second half. UH also had 11 steals to just four for the opponent.
“They didn’t make a mistake once when we were driving to the baseline, they’re the best defensive team in the country, they just don’t make mistakes,” said TCU guard Noah Reynolds.
Takeaway #3: TCU did well offensively for the first 22 minutes
After a slow start in the first few minutes, the Horned Frogs offense did well and were right in the game. Given the kind of dominance Houston basketball is accustomed to at home, this was impressive from TCU to make this close and competitive right till the half, as Houston only led by seven, and had a single digit lead for most of the game until then. Senior guard Noah Reynolds scored 17 points as the leading scorer for the team.
“We got hit in the mouth pretty early, but I like how we responded and put ourselves in position to come out and make a run at it, but they responded and we didn’t,” head coach Jaime Dixon said. “I didn’t like how we responded to adversity, that was the most disappointing thing.”
Next up for Houston (11-3, 3-0): at Kansas State (7-7, 1-2) – Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. EST
Next up for TCU (8-6, 1-2): vs. BYU (10-4, 1-2) – Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. EST
[…] (54 PPG), field goal percentage defense (34%), and scoring margin (+22). The Cougars won their last game 65-46 over TCU on Monday as Emanuel Sharp scored a team-high 14 points along with four threes. Graduate forward […]