No. 2 Houston basketball took control early and never let go in a 75-57 victory over Lehigh in their season opener as head coach Kelvin Sampson accomplished a huge milestone and won his 800th career game.
It was a special night at the Fertitta Center in Houston as the second-ranked Cougars won their 17th straight season opener and propelled Sampson to a great achievement. Sampson became the 17th coach in NCAA history to reach 800 career wins and the fifth active head coach to reach that number, as he joins Rick Pitino, Rick Barnes, John Calipari, and Bill Self. Houston basketball also unveiled its 2025 Final Four banner on the concourse, celebrating a historic last season where they reached the national championship for the first time since 1984.
There were some key observations from Houston’s first win of the season.
Chris Cenac Jr.’s potential looks special
Houston’s top freshman in power forward/center Chris Cenac Jr., showcased his many talents on the floor that gave real excitement to the fanbase. Cenac Jr. is the top freshman center in his class and the 7th-ranked freshman overall in 2025. Houston has never had a stretch big man that can do almost anything on the floor. This was a new sight to see and gives the Cougars a completely different look.
The Link Academy product put up a double-double in his first official game as a Cougar with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. Cenac Jr. threw down a dunk for his first points of his collegiate career and then followed that up with back-to-back 3-pointers. That was very impressive to watch as he pulled up with ease and has a solid jump shot to work with. He clearly can be a good shooter and his multiple strengths will be a big problem for opposing defenses to handle.
Cenac Jr. was also able to work in the post and easily shoot over his defender. Defensively, his rebounding will only get better.
Joseph Tugler’s struggles
In order for Houston basketball to really get to another level, Tugler will have to be a strong contributor offensively. It looks like he has definitely improved in that aspect with his floater and he even hit a 3-pointer in the season opener after making just three of them last year. Tugler had 11 points against Lehigh.
However, he has to get better with fouls and turnovers. Houston had 13 turnovers in the game, typical of a season opener, but Tugler had five of them. Now, as a junior, those mistakes have to get better.
“I thought out of all the freshmen, Jojo was the worst one. Then I reminded myself, wait a minute, he’s a junior,” Sampson said postgame.
His defensive impact will be elite. He already had four blocks, but Tugler also had four fouls in 22 minutes. They need him on the floor and to play smart.
Lots of pieces to put together
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp looks like the leader of this team, and he led the Cougars with 24 points on 7/13 shooting. He is clearly the offensive engine for Houston in their first game. Besides him and Milos Uzan, it will be important to see how UH plays together and eventually sets up their rotation and offense.
Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings was in the starting lineup and scored 8 points in 21 minutes. Flemings can contribute in a lot of areas and it will be interesting to see if he stays in the lineup later on once Isiah Harwell is completely ready. Harwell played 19 minutes off the bench and can be an elite scorer for this team.
The bench situation for Houston basketball will continue to get clearer as the games go on, but it looks like redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty will play a big role in that. McCarty had 4 points and 4 rebounds in 11 minutes. Besides that, senior forward Kalifa Sakho, who is the big man off the bench, struggled in nine minutes. He will also play a key role.
Up Next
Houston (1-0): vs. Towson on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. CST
[…] early Big 12 days will be common. Houston has not necessarily blown out their opponents so far, as Lehigh hung around in the first half, and Towson was only down three with 15 minutes to go. Sampson […]