No. 7 Houston seems to have a semi-permanent spot atop the national scoring defense leaders, and now the Cougars are coming off their stingiest effort of the season.
Houston again will rely on defense as it aims to stretch its winning streak to 12 games on Saturday evening in a Big 12 showdown against No. 12 Kansas at Lawrence, Kan.
The Cougars (15-3, 7-0) are in first place in the Big 12 behind a system that thrives around being defensive pests. Houston allows a national-low average of 53.9 points a game and has given up 45 or fewer on five occasions.
And the feistiness was on full display while allowing a season low for points in Wednesday’s 70-36 home victory over Utah.
The Cougars forced 26 turnovers and allowed just 13 field goals in the dismantling of the Utes. The Cougars had a 29-2 edge in points off turnovers.
Houston had an easy time despite standout guard Emanuel Sharp (ankle injury) missing the contest. Sharp is tied with L.J. Cryer (13.8 points per game) for the team scoring lead.
No Sharp equals no problem in the eyes of Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson.
“There are only two things you can control in this lifetime: your attitude and your effort,” Sampson said. “We work so hard on making sure that body language, posture, being a good teammate, and understanding your role. Being part of something that’s far more important than you are and playing for something far more important than you are. It’s not easy. If it was, then everybody would do it.”
The Cougars racked up 19 steals and committed just five turnovers against Utah.
Milos Uzan scored a season-best 14 points in 6-of-9 shooting from the field, marking his first time he’s been in double digits since Dec. 30.
“Coach (Sampson) and the staff have been encouraging me to stay aggressive,” Uzan said. “The more I’m aggressive, the more it opens up my passing abilities. Just continuing to stay aggressive is keeping me on a good flow and guarding on defense as well.”
This is the second season that national powers Kansas (14-4, 5-2) and Houston are members of the same conference.
They split last season’s two meetings. The Jayhawks notched a 78-65 home win in the first matchup, and the Cougars returned serve with a 76-46 home rout later in the season.
Kansas has won six of the nine all-time meetings.
The Jayhawks have won five of their last six overall games, with the setback coming when they were drilled 74-57 at then-No. 2 Iowa State on Jan. 15.
On Wednesday, Kansas overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to notch a 74-61 road win over TCU.
Hunter Dickinson scored a team-best 16 points as the Jayhawks had five players score in double digits. AJ Storr (12 points) and Shakeel Moore (11) were among the players who impressed Kansas coach Bill Self.
“Maybe this will be the first step,” Self said. “AJ was really good, he was terrific, and Shak was the best guard we had (Wednesday night). That was production that we haven’t been getting consistently, so that was great to see.”
The Jayhawks shot 55.6 percent from the field and moved the ball well with 21 assists. Kansas is 7-0 this season when accumulating 20 or more assists.
Dickinson leads Kansas in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (10.2). Zeke Mayo (14.9) is the only other Jayhawk in double digits in scoring. He has made a team-high 40 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
