It was a typical performance for no. 1 seed Houston basketball in the first round of March Madness, with an absolute beatdown of no. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville 78-40 to move onto the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season, a first in school history.
The 40 points allowed is a new school NCAA tournament record for the lowest amount of points given up in a game, beating the previous record of 46 points in last year’s first round matchup vs Longwood.
UH had such a dominant first half, and led 52-24 through the first 20 minutes. Even if the Cougars did not score a single point in the second half, they still would have won.
“I thought our defense and our rebounding, two of the things we really emphasize, was good today,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Shot selection was really good to start the game – knocked some shots down, got off to a good start.”
In the first game, UH handled their early jitters as junior point guard Milos Uzan took over with 14 first half points. Senior forward Ja’Vier Francis added 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Houston’s defense was quite strong with their traps, including forcing a turnover right before the half that resulted in a buzzer-beater three from graduate guard LJ Cryer, who had 15 points of his own. Houston basketball was plus 23 on the boards and SIUE was just a measly 2/24 from beyond the arc.
It has now been seven straight wins in the round of 64 by UH, and this win today continues that culture of starting off the tournament with a bang. This streak started back in 2018, when at the time, no. 6 seed Houston beat no. 11 seed San Diego State 67-65 with former legendary guard Rob Gray putting up 39 points.
The following season, UH started beating up their first round opponents, starting off with a 84-55 win over Georgia State in 2019 where guard Corey Davis had 26 points for the no. 3 seed Cougars.
In 2021, no. 2 seed Houston beat Cleveland State 87-56 after a 50 point second half. Now NBA standout Quentin Grimes contributed a team high 18 points. The next season the no.5 seed Cougars took care of UAB 82-68 where guard Kyler Edwards put up 25.
2023 was the first season in the Kelvin Sampson era where Houston was a no. 1 seed. While it was slightly closer, UH took care of business 62-53 over 16 seed Northern Kentucky. Last year, the no.1 seed Cougars ran all over no. 16 seed Longwood in a 40 point victory, 86-46.
While some may not want the NCAA Tournament to apply to mid major conferences or below, such as the 16 seeds which win their conference, Sampson believes otherwise. An opportunity to play in March Madness can change the lives of so many.
“What a great memory for them, being able to experience this tournament is something his kids will remember forever.,” Sampson said of SIUE.
Regardless, Houston basketball took care of business quite easily in the first round yet again and will look to keep their March run going.
[…] rolled into the second round of the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight season after crushing 16 seed SIUE on Thursday 78-40. It was the fewest number of points given up by Houston all time in their NCAA tournament history. […]
[…] won 81-76 where graduate guard LJ Cryer tied his career high with 30 points. The Cougars also beat 16 seed SIUE in the first round 78-40. Houston has won their last 15 games entering this […]