No. 7 Houston basketball took care of business in dominant fashion over Jackson State in an 80-38 win Wednesday night at home in the Fertitta Center.
The Cougars improve to 9-1 on the season, and after a slower start, beat the breaks out of JSU in a 42-point margin, the largest of the season. Houston basketball was favored by more than 40 points, and that is exactly what took place.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp led the way with 23 points on 8/11 shooting alongside five 3-pointers. After hanging in there with their shooting from beyond the arc, Jackson State was only down 21-16 halfway through the first half. The Tigers would not score again for the rest of the half. Houston basketball held JSU scoreless for more than 10 minutes. Overall, Jackson State shot just 30% from the field and had 25 turnovers, while Houston added 25 second-chance points.
Here are two takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Isiah Harwell has arrived
While freshman point guard Kingston Flemings has taken the college basketball world by storm, and freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. is starting every game and contributing, the third member of the trio has yet to truly have his first signature moment.
It finally arrived for freshman guard Isiah Harwell. Part of the historic 2025 recruiting class as a five-star shooting guard, Harwell was expected to play a key role for this team as an elite scorer. Harwell was ranked the 14th-best player in the class and the fourth-ranked shooting guard. The Pocatello, Idaho native showed some of that immense talent in this game. Harwell scored a season high 20 points on 57% shooting while draining four 3-pointers. He also added four rebounds in 24 minutes of play.
This was a season high in minutes for Harwell. While he did play around 20 minutes for the first five games he played, not too much stood out on the stat sheet besides nine points against Oakland and four steals against Lehigh.
Harwell was also dealing with injury recovery after tearing his ACL last year and getting sick in between games. He was a key player for this team against Jackson State, helping the offense come to life after their slow start. The Gatorade Player of the Year in Utah hit a couple of early shots to extend the lead and chipped in at key moments. Harwell heated up from behind the arc and hit three triples with his clean release.
Takeaway #2: Jacob McFarland’s long-awaited return
It was the story of the night. Redshirt sophomore center Jacob McFarland finally made his collegiate debut. It has been a long time coming for the 6-foot-11 big man after more than two seasons. McFarland was redshirted as a freshman before suffering a broken leg injury as a sophomore last October. The road to recovery was difficult, but he overcame it all for this moment.
McFarland played four minutes, but those were a massive four minutes for him that meant a lot. The big man grabbed two rebounds in his inaugural game. He was a former four-star recruit of high school in Moreno Valley, California. McFarland’s moment was celebrated at the Fertitta Center, with Cougar fans cheering loudly, knowing what an important milestone it was for him
Head coach Kelvin Sampson was clearly very happy for his young center.
“It meant a lot to me for his mother and father…I was so appreciative of our crowd. I said a silent thank you to everyone who stood up and cheered for that young man. He earned it, and he deserved it,” Sampson said.
It took two surgeries after his broken leg, but it’s likely to be a long and bright journey for McFarland now in Cougar red.
McFarland also had his moment in the postgame press conference.
“Before the game, I went home and cried. It’s been bottling up to this moment. It was amazing…giving that ovation meant a lot to me,” McFarland said.
Up next for Houston basketball (9-1): vs. New Orleans (3-7) at 2 p.m., Sat., Dec. 13