No. 14 Houston had thrashed a series of overmatched nonconference opponents before opening the Big 12 slate with a thorough drubbing of Oklahoma State on the road last week.
With its prolific offense, BYU was supposed to represent a step up in weight class.
Instead, the Cougars (10-3, 2-0 Big 12) throttled BYU 86-55 on Saturday to extend its overall winning streak to six games and homecourt winning streak to a nation-best 30 games in advance of hosting TCU on Monday.
According to KenPom.com, BYU entered the matchup ranked 24th in offensive efficiency. Houston limited BYU to 37.5 percent shooting and a season-low point total.
“We just keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We did that against Troy, Toledo, and we’re a pretty good defensive team.”
The Cougars have been an exceptional offensive team of late, too. During their current winning streak, the Cougars are averaging 75.3 points and getting contributions from players up and down their roster.
L.J. Cryer and Milos Uzan combined for 30 points against Oklahoma State to support a double-double from J’Wan Roberts before Emanuel Sharp and Terrance Arceneaux combined for 33 points on 10-for-18 shooting against BYU.
“This is always going to be a defense-first and rebound program, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t trying to score points,” Sampson said. “Some nights we don’t score because the ball doesn’t go in. Offensively, you’re just as good as the shots that go in.
“I don’t care how many points we score as long as we win. That’s what’s most important.”
TCU (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) needed a 7-0 run capped by Noah Reynolds’ layup with 12.8 seconds left to turn back Kansas State 63-62 on Saturday. The victory was the third in four games for the Horned Frogs, whose coalescing roster appears to be rounding into form at precisely the right time.
“We’re still figuring out this thing,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We’ve got 10 guys that have to be effective for us. We’ve made some great strides but we’ve still got a lot of things to get better at.”
TCU welcomed the return of senior guard Brendan Wenzel from an injury absence and enjoyed the usual production from Reynolds, who tallied a game-high 18 points, and Trazarien White, who hit three 3-pointers and tallied 14 points for his ninth double-digit scoring game this season.
The late-game rally enabled TCU to remain unbeaten at home at 8-0. By contrast, the Horned Frogs have dropped both of their true road games. The matchup at Houston represents the stiffest of tests for TCU, both as a road affair and as another Big 12 challenge.
“Every night in a conference like this, every game is going to be intense,” Wenzel said. “We just can’t give up. We’ve got to work on the little things, we’ve got to keep focusing and controlling what we can control.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be little things in this conference because everyone is talented here. It’ll come down to the wire every game.”
–Field Level Media
