Houston basketball strolled through the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend in Oklahoma City with 31-point wins against No. 15 seed Idaho and No. 10 seed Texas A&M.
While there has typically been drama for Houston basketball in the second round of March Madness, that was not the case this time around. While the Cougars may not have shot well overall, they still took over the game against A&M. Here are two takeaways from Houston’s performance in the first weekend of March Madness as it marches back home to take on No. 3 seed Illinois in the Sweet 16 at home in Toyota Center in downtown Houston.
Takeaway #1: Balanced scoring
Four players were in double digits for Houston basketball against Texas A&M, and that included freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. with 17 points and nine rebounds. Five players were in double digits against Idaho. The leading scorer in that game was freshman point guard Kingston Flemings with 18 points.
While both the starting freshmen contributed, it was the senior guards who stepped up in March Madness so far. Emanuel Sharp scored 16 points and was 6/7 from the field against Idaho and followed that up with a game-high 18 points against the Aggies. After a slump, Sharp woke up last weekend and will need to continue to do so. Milos Uzan also needed to improve, and he has put up back-to-back double-digit games.
Uzan added 15 points and three 3-pointers against A&M, while he also scored 12 against Idaho. Houston needs its two senior leaders to come through. Chris Cenac Jr. grabbed 18 rebounds against Idaho. The starting lineup looked complete at the right time. Additionally, sophomore guard Mercy Miller contributed 10 points against Idaho and 12 against the Aggies off the bench. Junior forward Joseph Tugler also demonstrated his growth.
Takeaway #2: Culture prevailing so far
Houston basketball’s culture and identity have generally shown up in March. There was no difference between the first and second rounds. The turnovers were low, while the rebounding was at a high level. The defense was physical. UH’s defense limited one of the highest scoring offenses in A&M to just 57 points. Idaho was limited to just 47 points. The Aggies shot 35% while their highest scorer, Rashaun Agee, had 7 points. Idaho shot 29%. The Cougars were plus 17 on the boards against Texas A&M. Even though Houston shot 26% (8/31) from three, it was a dominant showing.