No. 2 Houston basketball began its three-game gauntlet this week against the best in the Big 12 and lost to the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones on the road 70-67 at Hilton Coliseum on Big Monday.
Houston lost its second Big 12 game of the year so far and dropped to 23-3 and 11-2 overall while Iowa State improved to the same record of 23-3, but are 10-3 in conference. Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings was the leading scorer with 22 points and showed up yet again in a ranked matchup.
Here are two takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Late collapse
It was always going to be a difficult task to beat a team like the Cyclones at their place, and Hilton Coliseum remains the only Big 12 arena that Houston has not won yet. However, the Cougars will feel like they blew this game. There were many chances to end up with the win, but Houston basketball flat out did not finish the job.
Houston was up 63-53 with seven minutes left and only scored four points in that period. While there was a controversial foul call against junior forward Joseph Tugler, this poor stretch of play on both sides cost the game. Iowa State was going to get back into the game, but Houston failed to deliver the knockout blow.
As noted by coach Kelvin Sampson postgame, the Cougars got beat on three missed free throw blockouts, which is disappointing considering how much they work on it. A critical swing in the game that he mentioned was when senior point guard Milos Uzan missed the one-and-one with Houston up 65-63 with 2:27 left. If he makes both, Houston probably ends up winning. That also is the case if the Cougars just closed out the free throws.
It was a 17-4 run by ISU overall in a seven-minute span that changed the game. Houston still had two chances to win down 69-67 twice. The last few offensive possessions for Houston were a disaster. Houston was unable to even get a proper shot off the first time with around a minute left as senior guard Emanuel Sharp just tossed a prayer up right before the clock expired. On the final chance, Flemings ended up falling to the ground.
Takeaway #2: Similar play style
Houston typically cashes in on points off turnovers to supplement its offense, but that was not the case at all in this one. Iowa State was just as good, and actually better in this game with turnovers. The Cougars were only able to force three turnovers and got 0 points off them. Meanwhile, Iowa State made the most out of the seven turnovers from Houston and generated 12 points off them. Houston only got two steals.
Both teams were equal in rebounding, and each had their moments during the game. Houston basketball won second-chance points, but Iowa State made clutch offensive rebounds. The Cyclones and Cougars are each one of the best defensive teams in the country. Each team’s offense has experience on how to face a defense like this and that showed up in the first half. Iowa State shot 49% overall compared to 42% for Houston, and each team only scored 27 points in the second half.
Houston basketball shot 52% in the first half and was 44% from three. Iowa State was even better in the first half. Sharp scored all of his 16 points in the first half, but was scoreless in the second half thanks to getting fouled out.
Up next for Houston basketball: vs. No. 4 Arizona on Saturday at 2 p.m. CST