The decisive manner in which No. 15 Houston dismantled Butler on Saturday only reinforced the surprise that the Cougars somehow have managed to lose three games this season.
Seemingly on track now, the Cougars (5-3) will play host to Troy on Tuesday after they extended their homecourt winning streak to 26 consecutive games, the best in the nation, with their 79-51 victory over the weekend against the Bulldogs.
Houston excelled in every phase, stifling Butler defensively while dominating the rebounding battle and turning a hot-shooting second half into a runaway triumph.
“Could have easily won all three (at Las Vegas),” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said of the recent Players Era Festival, where the Cougars fell to Alabama and San Diego State in overtime by a combined eight points. “So our team is not that far away. You guys have heard me say I don’t overreact to wins or losses.
“We have been 13-0 enough. When you’re 13-0 most people think you’re better than you actually are. When you’re 4-3, most people think you’re worse than you actually are. It’s a good thing they are not coaching.”
The Cougars limited Butler to 28.3 percent shooting and finished with a 41-22 rebounding advantage. It was yet another example of Houston’s hard-nosed style under Sampson, who has a reputation for defensive and rebounding might.
Houston also flashed plenty of offense, shooting 66.7 percent after halftime while scoring 51 points. L.J. Cryer scored 18 of his game-high 20 points after the break while Emanuel Sharp came alive from 3-point range, matching Cryer by making 4 of 7 from distance.
Houston’s goal is to pair that level of offensive efficiency with its usual brand of defense and rebounding.
“Well, we scored 50 more in the second half by not changing anything,” Sampson said. “Just doing it harder, doing it faster, doing it more confidently, having more of a purpose to what we’re doing. I saw a lot of purposeful basketball.”
“If you ask me what the one difference was our discipline. I thought we were much better at the little things. That has been a huge emphasis.”
Troy (5-3) responded to a surprising home loss against Merrimack on Nov. 29 with an 84-74 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 1 in the finale of a three-game homestand. The Trojans made 29 of 50 field goals (58.0 percent) for their best accuracy rate against a Division I opponent since Jan. 20, 2022, when they shot 59.6 percent against UL Monroe.
Myles Rigsby and Jerrell Bellamy spearheaded the Trojans’ efficient offense by combining for 38 points on 13-of-18 shooting. Rigsby drilled a pair of 3-pointers while Bellamy finished 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Cooper Campbell and Tayton Conerway each scored 10 points, with Campbell hitting all four of his shots from the floor, including two 3-pointers.
“It was a great all-around win for the guys,” Trojans coach Scott Cross said. “We had such a quick turnaround, and (Eastern Kentucky) is a hard team to prepare for because they pressure for 40 minutes, and with only having one day, it was so quick. But our guys did a great job. It was an all-around great team performance for us.”
–Field Level Media
