Houston 1/3 2:00 FOX

[swilsonsp4]

Okay, the disappointing OOC-portion of the schedule is behind us. There's nothing like jumping right into the fire in B12 game #1.

However, this Cougars squad is a bit different from recent Kelvin Sampson teams, in that he is relying on two key freshmen, Chris Cenac (McDonald's AA center) and Kingston Flemings (Top 25 player who probably was the biggest snub from that AA squad).

Flemings is a guard who can really score, having led the Cougars in points in six of their 13 games. He is paired with Emmanuel Sharp, a deadly shooter who has led the team in six others. Their third backcourt starter is Milos Uzan, who's no slouch in his own right, with an ability to take his defender into the paint (not shooting well outside, though, at 26.3%). Those three guards combine for 43.4 ppg, led by Sharp's 17.0. Sharp and Flemings top the Cougars in FT attempts (47 & 41) and make the vast majority of them (85.1% & 80.5%). Uzan is right behind at 78.6%. As a team, Houston are very good FT shooters (76.2%). However, they do not get to the line a ton (#346 nationally in FT rate, compared to UC's mediocre #208).

Working with Cenac inside is Jo Jo Tugler, who is a beast of a defender and offensive rebounder. As a team, the Cougars are #22 (barttorvik.com) in offensive rebounding. That should be an interesting matchup, as the Bearcats are #4 in defensive rebounding.

As usual, Kelvin Sampson's squad pressures the ball in the half-court, jumping the ballhandler with strong double-teams whenever the opponent attempts a ball screen. Their harassment is such that the ballhandlers often cannot feed the picker who rolls to the basket. Houston turns bad passes into points. They are elite at forcing turnovers (#6 per barttorvik.com). The Cougars play at a slow tempo with the ball, probing to get a good shot, then grabbing the offensive rebound. They strangle the opponent on defense, forcing them out of their offense, and will run on live-ball turnovers and forced shots that lead to the other team scrambling to get back in transition.

Essentially, the Cats must continue their recent reduction in poor passing that plagued the team early in the season. Over the past three games, UC have turned it over 7, 12, and 8 times (quite acceptable). If they can keep their heads and duplicate that, they can hang with Houston. Oh, of course it would behoove them to hit some shots, including FT's. The Cougars do foul at the defensive end, largely as a result of their aggressiveness.

[sedz]

Great preview! The only thing I can add is that Sharp and Fleming are Houston's best players and their highest usage players.

[Gmann]

I am particularly interested in how Baba Miller fares against the physical Houston front line. To have any success in the B12 he needs to toughen up. He's talented enough but has been a bit of a shrinking violet against our toughest competition.

[leo from jersey]

I am particularly interested in how Baba Miller fares against the physical Houston front line. To have any success in the B12 he needs to toughen up. He's talented enough but has been a bit of a shrinking violet against our toughest competition.

I want to see the maturity of James when UH doubles on him forcing a hurried and contested choice. What will his buddies do. Last year since he dribbled too much, they stood around watching. I hope CWM has corrected that.

[GoBearcats31]

In the 21st century, UC is 13-13 versus Houston.

But Houston is on a 9-game win streak and has won 12 of 14.

UC's last W was February 2020 -- Jarron Cumberland had 17, Tre Scott had 16 and 11. The likes of Chris Vogt, Zach Harvey, Jaume Sorolla and Chris McNeal also donned the red/black.

Surprisingly, the last four contests were all single-digit losses, as most the recent games have been very one-sided.

[leo from jersey]

Zach Harvey

what could have been- A troubled kid with talent not developed but practically destroyed by his time at UC.

[swilsonsp4]

In the 21st century, UC is 13-13 versus Houston.

But Houston is on a 9-game win streak and has won 12 of 14.

UC's last W was February 2020 -- Jarron Cumberland had 17, Tre Scott had 16 and 11. The likes of Chris Vogt, Zach Harvey, Jaume Sorolla and Chris McNeal also donned the red/black.

Surprisingly, the last four contests were all single-digit losses, as most the recent games have been very one-sided.

That was the game with the infamous incident in which DeJon Jarreau bit Mamadou Diarra in a scramble for a loose ball. Jarreau was ejected. Afterwards, when UC visited Houston, Kelvin Sampson directed Jarreau to apologize directly to John Brannen.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

Okay, the disappointing OOC-portion of the schedule is behind us. There's nothing like jumping right into the fire in B12 game #1.

However, this Cougars squad is a bit different from recent Kelvin Sampson teams, in that he is relying on two key freshmen, Chris Cenac (McDonald's AA center) and Kingston Flemings (Top 25 player who probably was the biggest snub from that AA squad).

Flemings is a guard who can really score, having led the Cougars in points in six of their 13 games. He is paired with Emmanuel Sharp, a deadly shooter who has led the team in six others. Their third backcourt starter is Milos Uzan, who's no slouch in his own right, with an ability to take his defender into the paint (not shooting well outside, though, at 26.3%). Those three guards combine for 43.4 ppg, led by Sharp's 17.0. Sharp and Flemings top the Cougars in FT attempts (47 & 41) and make the vast majority of them (85.1% & 80.5%). Uzan is right behind at 78.6%. As a team, Houston are very good FT shooters (76.2%). However, they do not get to the line a ton (#346 nationally in FT rate, compared to UC's mediocre #208).

Working with Cenac inside is Jo Jo Tugler, who is a beast of a defender and offensive rebounder. As a team, the Cougars are #22 (barttorvik.com) in offensive rebounding. That should be an interesting matchup, as the Bearcats are #4 in defensive rebounding.

As usual, Kelvin Sampson's squad pressures the ball in the half-court, jumping the ballhandler with strong double-teams whenever the opponent attempts a ball screen. Their harassment is such that the ballhandlers often cannot feed the picker who rolls to the basket. Houston turns bad passes into points. They are elite at forcing turnovers (#6 per barttorvik.com). The Cougars play at a slow tempo with the ball, probing to get a good shot, then grabbing the offensive rebound. They strangle the opponent on defense, forcing them out of their offense, and will run on live-ball turnovers and forced shots that lead to the other team scrambling to get back in transition.

Essentially, the Cats must continue their recent reduction in poor passing that plagued the team early in the season. Over the past three games, UC have turned it over 7, 12, and 8 times (quite acceptable). If they can keep their heads and duplicate that, they can hang with Houston. Oh, of course it would behoove them to hit some shots, including FT's. The Cougars do foul at the defensive end, largely as a result of their aggressiveness.

To piggyback on your assessment, once all the guards in the rotation for UC and UH are included in the scoring analysis, UC's guards score about 51.9 points a game and UH guards score about 57 points a game. The seemingly advantage that UC may have comes with its big men. UC's starting bigs on the season are averaging 24.4 points and 18.6 rebounds a game. UH's bigs are averaging about 17.2 and 12.4. Likewise, UC's bigs average about 3.3 blocks and 2.0 steals a game and UH bigs average about 2.38 blocks and 2.23 steals. UC's bigs get to the FT line about 7.69 times a game where UH's bigs get to the FT line about 3.5 times a game.

On paper, this is a game where UC should be competitive. However, there is the matter of Kelvin Sampson versus Wes Miller. This is where UC is outmatched. In 9 (nine) previous meetings, Wes Miller is 0-9 against Sampson. Miller's UC teams have never scored 70 or more points and have scored over 65 points one time (2nd game in 2022-23 season) against UH. In fact, over the 9 games that UC has played UH, under Miller, UC has lost all 9 games by an average of 11.6 points or UH (71.3) and UC (59.7).

For the members on this blog that can go back to the 1960s, I have a question. Has UC ever had a basketball coach to lose 10 consecutive games to one other coach? Nine consecutive losses by one UC coach to another coach has got to be some UC record. To be honest, that is a very embarrassing record.

To stay competitive with UH, UC must match UH's intensity, grit, and physicality and toughness from start to finish. I do not know if Miller coaches that way on a day-to-day basis. Here is the good part, UC has seen Sampson's teams before. UC has 5 players that have played against UH (James, Thomas, Harris, Kriisa, and Thiam). UC knows what it is getting when Houston comes to town.

Coach Miller has wasted most of his opportunities to win against high-major programs over his time at UC. Miller can no longer pad his record by beating-up on mid-majors. No more excuses and reasons why UC lost the game. By March, maybe even before March, we will know the fate of coach Miller.

[Gmann]

Also I have no more desire for moral victories. You either win or you don't. We've seen that positive momentum doesn't really carry over with Miller. This team needs to either start stacking wins against touch competition or kiss good bye to Miller and his program of under achievement.

[bearcatjd]

Also I have no more desire for moral victories. You either win or you don't. We've seen that positive momentum doesn't really carry over with Miller. This team needs to either start stacking wins against touch competition or kiss good bye to Miller and his program of under achievement.

I agree, no more moral victories. We need to produce now or we need to make a change! People are losing interest big time on this team & coach!

[leo from jersey]

Agreed with no more moral victories or all star stats. Here is a quote from an Ohian. Not a UC coach, but Miami and OSU

The only meaningful statistic is number of games won.
Woody Hayes

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

Also I have no more desire for moral victories. You either win or you don't. We've seen that positive momentum doesn't really carry over with Miller. This team needs to either start stacking wins against touch competition or kiss good bye to Miller and his program of under achievement.

Yeah. I hear you. Moral victories are really not an issue right now. What UC now desperately needs is Power Conference wins. UC plays in the BIG XII, so the opportunities for Power Conference wins are there. That is not the problem.

The problem is Coach Miller. He does not know how to win at the high-major level.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

If we look at the Houston game purely in terms of probability, with Miller being 0-9 against Sampson, UC has a zero (0) probability of winning this game. When put another way, UC has a 100% chance of losing this game.

UC will not lose against Houston forever. Forget the stats. Maybe this is the game.

[leo from jersey]

If we look at the Houston game purely in terms of probability, with Miller being 0-9 against Sampson, UC has a zero (0) probability of winning this game. When put another way, UC has a 100% chance of losing this game.

UC will not lose against Houston forever. Forget the stats. Maybe this is the game.

That is why it is played on the court and not post game in a stat book or on PlayStation.

[leo from jersey]

That is why it is played on the court and not post game in a stat book or on PlayStation.

Lee I understand discussing stats post and pre game as it gives us something to talk about and think about the game. I do that myself - but as you said "UC will not lose against Houston forever. Forget the stats. Maybe this is the game.". Once you walk across that black line all the stats can go out of bounds. There is no better sport's thrill then to lace them up and go fact to face and especially to win. Oh how I wish I could do it one more time. I still get excited handing the ball off to my granddaughter and coaching some moves. She is pretty good and has a future, but she has her own mind, She loves dance and cheerleading more. I have 3 grandsons and the Doctor said they have inherited the family size. My one son who is 6 ft 8 and his wife 6 ft 3 has a boy the Doctor's project him to be taller. The others over 6 ft 6 so you never know. I will miss bumping them as I guard them when they get older as I did my sons.