Category: Houston Cougars

Houston beats Baylor on the road, are they the No. 1 team in college basketball?

The Houston Cougars picked up a massive win over the Baylor Bears in overtime, and have an argument as the top team in college basketball.

The Houston Cougars earned an incredibly hard fought victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Baylor Bears on the road in overtime by a score of 82-76.

Houston had a 16 point halftime lead but Baylor erased it with a strong second half, tying the game with 4.4 seconds left on an and-1 bucket from Yves Missi. Missi missed the free throw and Jamal Shead hit what looked like a game winning three pointer, but replay showed he just missed getting it off. Blowing a 17 point lead and going into overtime on the road against a team with momentum is a monumental task, but Kelvin Sampson and the Coogs calmly took care of business in the extra frame.

Houston is No. 2 in the country according to the AP Poll, and with UConn going down on the road to No. 15 Creighton earlier this week, this win could move Houston into the No. 1 spot.

The Coogs are 24-3 on the season, the same record as both Purdue and UConn, and being in first place in the toughest conference in college basketball is certainly a strong argument for the top spot.

Regardless of who is No. 1, Houston has the inside track on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the way they are playing lately they are a great bet to be back in the Final 4 this April.

Pair of Big 12 clashes are must-see TV on Saturday

These are the best games to check out in the Big 12 on Saturday.

The Big 12 is one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

It certainly makes for some interesting basketball in conference play. You can add that Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech are all worthy of being ranked as well. Welcome to the murderer’s row of basketball.

With the college football season finished, eyes are coming back to the hardwood just in time for the run to March. On Saturday, there are plenty of games in the Big 12 to keep an eye on but here are the best ones.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks are both coming off disappointing losses for different reasons. The TCU Horned Frogs were able to take down OU thanks to the Sooners’ inability to score consistently in an 80-71 loss. Oklahoma trailed 78-61 with under two minutes to go but only managed a 10-2 run to cut the lead to nine before the final buzzer. On the other hand, Kansas built a nice first half lead at 35-19 with under four minutes to go. The Knights outscored the Jayhawks 46-25 over the next 24 minutes of basketball.

Who will get off the snide and avoid back-to-back losses just three games into Big 12 play? Tune in for the game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

No. 2 Houston Cougars at TCU Horned Frogs

Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The aforementioned TCU Horned Frogs will host the No. 2 team in the country in the early evening hours. The Houston Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a stingy Iowa State squad. The Cougars have averaged 75.3 points per game but were held to 22 points under that number by the Cyclones’ defense. They forced Houston to turn the ball over 16 times in that game. On the other side, you have a TCU squad that is coming off the upset victory of No. 3 Kansas, can they keep it going against No. 2 Houston? The plan should be the same as the Oklahoma matchup, keep your turnovers to a minimum while forcing the Cougs into making mistakes.

Does TCU get another huge win or does Houston rebound? Tune into that game at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Bonus Game: Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders

Olivia Raymond/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jerome Tang (Kansas State) and Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) were longtime assistants for Scott Drew at Baylor, now they are adversaries. On Saturday, Texas Tech looks to extend their longest winning streak in the conference to 9 games. They are 2-0 in conference play after knocking off Texas and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is also 2-0 after wins over UCF and West Virginia.

Which team stays unbeaten in Big 12 play? Tune in at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2

Historic night in college basketball as No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Houston lose to unranked teams

The No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers and No. 2 Houston Cougars fell to unranked opponents in Nebraska and Iowa State in a wild Tuesday of college basketball.

It was as if college basketball knew the football season was over and they needed to make a big splash to get people’s attention. On Tuesday evening, one day after Michigan won the national championship over Washington, college basketball treated fans to a pair of historic upsets with No. 1 Purdue falling to Nebraska while No. 2 Houston fell to Iowa State.

There have been 648 all-time instances of the top two teams each playing an unranked opponent on the same night, and only eight times where both teams lost.

We’ll start with No. 1 Purdue, who is now 14-2 on the season but just 3-2 in Big Ten play after losing to Northwestern back in December. The Boilermakers and in particular Zach Edey were flustered by Nebraska’s pesky defense, with the reigning National Player of the Year only managing 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-10 shooting.

Although Purdue was able to knock down 13 three-pointers on 39.4% shooting, it was the Cornhuskers who dominated offensively – making 14 threes on a blistering 60.9% shooting and racking up 88 total points in their first win over a No. 1 team in 41 years.

Meanwhile, Houston took their first loss of the year in just their second-ever Big 12 regular season contest, falling 57-53 to an Iowa State team that is now 12-3 on the year and should find themselves ranked next week.

The Cyclones held Houston to just 38% from the field and 26.9% (7-26) from distance. Starting guards LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead were a combined 2-14 from three and 7-24 from the field while turning the ball over a whopping eight times.

Iowa State’s offense wasn’t great, but they went 18-22 from the free throw line and a strong game from sophomore Tamin Lipsey (14 points and four rebounds) was enough to pull off a major victory and prove this team deserves more respect going forward.

The madness may not be over as No. 3 Kansas, No. 4 UConn, and No. 5 Tennessee are all in action on Wednesday evening, and they all face tough road contests in conference play against Central Florida, Xavier, and Mississippi State, respectively.

Houston is now the last undefeated team in college basketball

The Houston Cougars demolished West Virginia on Saturday, and losses by James Madison and Ole Miss mean they are the last undefeated team in college basketball.

On Saturday morning three undefeated teams remained in college basketball: the Houston Cougars, James Madison Dukes, and Ole Miss Rebels.

By the evening the list had been trimmed to one, with James Madison suffering a surprising loss on the road to Southern Miss, while Ole Miss was boat raced by Tennessee to open up conference play.

That leaves Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, who crushed West Virginia in their first ever Big 12 game, 89-55, to move to 14-0 on the year.

Houston has been a top-6 team in the coaches poll all year long, and is currently ranked third, but skeptics have pointed to their relatively weak strength of schedule as a knock on the program.

While the Mountaineers are probably the weakest team in the Big 12, Houston’s dominance in this game was evident from the opening tip, as they jumped out to a 48-22 halftime lead and never faltered.

The Cougars shot 50% (9-18) from three, outrebounded West Virginia by six, had only five turnovers, and held Josh Eilert’s team to 32.1% shooting from the field and 17.4% (4-23) from distance.

Houston will likely remain behind Purdue and Kansas in the polls next week, but will have a huge opportunity to prove they are no fluke with road battles at Iowa State on Tuesday and at TCU on Saturday.

Houston makes a phenomenal hire with Willie Fritz

Houston gets off the coaching carousel and Tulane jumps on after latest hire.

One move that was lost in the shuffle of the College Football Playoff selection Sunday was the hiring of Willie Fritz for the Houston Cougars.

It was announced on social media less than 12 hours after the Tulane Green Wave lost to the SMU Mustangs in the AAC championship game. The 63-year-old head coach had just finished his eighth season with Tulane. He amassed a record of 54-47, but more importantly, he finished 23-4 over the last two seasons.

It felt like a matter of when and not if that Fritz would make the jump to the Power Five. A long-time head coach with plenty of experience at the JUCO, FCS, and FBS levels. Before taking the job at Tulane, Fritz helped the Georgia Southern Eagles make the jump to the FBS. His two-year run finished with a 17-7 record and 14-2 in Sun Belt play.

The 2022 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year has a combined record of 247-121 with a 4-1 record in bowl games. He is familiar with coaching in the state of Texas, although things have changed since he was at Sam Houston State in 2010 to 2013.

Fritz is a proven winner and plenty of players will want to play for him as the Cougars look to climb out of the doldrums of the new-look Big 12. It was important for Houston to get a good hire with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah coming in 2024.

Willie Fritz’s first goal is arranging his staff and hitting the recruiting trail as Houston has a lot of ground to make up.

NFL threatens legal action over UH’s use of the ‘Luv Ya Blue’ uniforms

The “No Fun League” strikes again, this time the target is the University of Houston.

The University of Houston could be facing legal action after receiving a “cease and desist” letter from the NFL due to the “Luv Ya Blue” Houston Oilers-inspired uniforms.

According to the report from the Houston Chronicle, the uniforms are a blatant copy of the Houston Oilers uniforms. It is easy to see where they drew the inspiration.

These jerseys were worn against USTA in the season-opening win over the Roadrunners. According to the Chronicle’s report, the “Luv Ya Blue” is trademarked by the NFL.

The first season in the Big 12 sure hasn’t gone the way of the Cougars after starting out 3-5 and 1-4 in conference play. Most recently Houston was blanked 41-0 by the defending conference champion Kansas State Wildcats.

With the NFL citing trademark infringement, it is likely that we never see these uniforms again without some sort of compromise from the NFL and the University of Houston.

Breaking down the Houston Cougars expectations and biggest challenge in 2023 and beyond

What will be Houston football’s biggest barrier to long-term success in the Big 12 and what should expectations be for the Cougars going forward?

Recently we have taken a look at the  BYU Cougars and the Cincinnati Bearcats’ biggest challenges and expectations as they enter the Big 12.

Next, we move on to the Houston Cougars.

The Cougars enter the Big 12 after a 10-year stint in the American Athletic Conference, where they posted seven seasons of eight or more wins. That success came despite the program seeing five different head coaches during its AAC tenure, that number includes interim head coaches.

However, the program has found a stable head coaching option in Dana Holgorson, who is set to enter his fifth season as the head coach of the program. His fifth season will make him the second longest-tenured head coach in program history since 1990, only behind Kim Helton, who led the program from 1993 through 1999.

For a program that has long searched for coaching stability, going through seven full-time head coaches since 2000, Holgorson has met those needs. He also appears to be staying with the program for the foreseeable future after signing a six-year contract extension in March 2022 that will keep him with the program through 2027.

Despite the consistent coaching turnover, the program over the last 20 years has transformed from a bottom-of-the-barrel program to a marquee program within the Group of Five. Now, the program looks to take an even more significant step into Power Five football.

Can Houston continue its’ ascent in college football, or will the Cougars struggle in their attempt to take the program to the next level? We look at the program’s biggest challenge going forward and what realistic expectations should be for the program in 2023 and beyond.

First, we dive into the biggest challenge

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Houston quarterback Donovan Smith poised for a breakout season

Donovan Smith should have a strong first year in Houston for the Cougars.

After two seasons with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Donovan Smith opted to leave for a new opportunity.

In his redshirt freshman season of 2021, Smith was a big reason that the Red Raiders were able to get bowl eligible following the firing of Matt Wells. That season he threw for 1,181 yards with seven touchdowns to just two interceptions. Smith was thrust into the starting job after Tyler Shough left the Texas game with an injury. Smith led Tech to the win over Iowa State that gave the Red Raiders bowl eligibility.

Last season he was once again the backup to Shough but took over following the injury. Smith had some big games early on but eventually would be replaced by Behren Morton before Shough took back over as the starter. Smith threw for 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Going into 2023, Smith is the guy for the Cougars. He remains in the Big 12 with the Cougars joining the conference. Smith will return to Lubbock on Sept. 30 when Houston takes on Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports broke down top transfer quarterbacks into four tiers. Former Texas Tech quarterback who heads to Houston was among the guys in tier four. Smith is looking to take that next step with the Cougars under former Mike Leach assistant, Dana Holgorsen.

The skills are off the charts for Smith, who provided an air of chaos while playing two seasons as a key reserve. He threw for just under 2,700 yards and 19 touchdowns in the past two seasons but traded it off with a number of interceptions and fumbles in key spots.

Now, Smith is joining quarterback guru Dana Holgorsen to help usher Houston into the Big 12. Holgorsen has done great work with quarterbacks and recently helped Clayton Tune develop into one of the nation’s top passers. With any luck, Smith can be his next great protĂ©gĂ©.

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Report: Marcus Sasser to start against Auburn

Houston guard Marcus Sasser to start in their matchup with Auburn.

The [autotag]Houston Cougars[/autotag] are getting a boost in their Round of 32 matchup with the Auburn Tigers. College basketball insider Jeff Goodman reports that starting guard Marcus Sasser will start despite dealing with a groin injury.

“Houston’s Marcus Sasser (groin) will start,” Goodman tweets. “(And) will not have any minute restrictions today against Auburn, sources told Stadium. Sasser could have come back in (the) first-round game, but Houston coaching staff held him out.”

This season Sasser has played and started in 34 games for Kelvin Sampson’s squad. He averages 16.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in 30.6 minutes per game. Against East Carolina in the conference tournament, Sasser poured in 30 points with five rebounds and 2 assists.

The Auburn defense will have to figure out how to limit the impact of Sasser if he is able to give them his usual output while playing through the injury.

Houston and Auburn will take the court at 6:10 p.m. CT and you can check out all the action on TBS.

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