2 Key Takeaways From No. 7 Houston Cougars' Win Over Arizona State
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Suffocation, separation. It's been a common practice at Fertitta Center, where the No. 7 Houston Cougars capitalized on 12 first-half turnovers in a 103-73 blowout win over Arizona State on Sunday evening.
Among the double-figure starting five, who helped Houston reach the century mark for the first time in program history in a Big 12 game, freshman guard Kingston Flemings mounted a team-leading 20 points, four rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and two blocks.
Tagging behind him in the frontcourt was freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr., who nearly cashed in his fourth double-double by matching a season-high 18 points along with eight boards.
From scoring 20 points in the first five minutes of the game to seeing a 33-point lead grow down to 13 with time running out, Houston provided an adequate cushion in the end to put a positive note on the day of Dwight Davis' jersey retirement.
Davis' immortalization and the second-half resolve are the focus of two key takeaways that helped Houston move to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in Big 12 play.
First-half separation proves crucial in second
12 first-half Arizona State turnovers and a 55% shooting clip made Houston decide the game in one frame, as a near-scare in the second half was none more.
The Cougars held a lead as large as 66-33 two minutes into the second half, but it was cut down to as little as 13 with seven and a half minutes remaining, on a 33-13 run off six turnovers.
But a late seven points by Flemings helped fuel a 24-7 run in the final minutes to help seal its first win with 100 points since its 100-95 overtime win over Texas A&M on March 24, 2024, in the 2023-24 NCAA tournament second round in Memphis.
Knowing a win in a deep Big 12 at all is typically hard to come by; separation through opponent miscues and good scoring streaks eliminates any overreactions of how the win was secured. An argument can be made that Houston's best offensive glimpse gave promising signs of what came last season en route to a trip to the national championship game.
Dwight Davis immortalized at Fertitta Center
If anything continues to illustrate coach Kelvin Sampson's push for recognizing and immortalizing the names that shaped a historic program, it came by way of organizing for former AP All-American second team selection and Houston forward Dwight Davis' No. 42 jersey to be retired on a plaque among other program-defining legends.
In Davis' three seasons at Houston under Hall of Fame coach Guy V. Lewis, two of them came in averaging over 20 points a game, including his double-double average of 11.7 rebounds per game in 1970-71.
Following his five-year NBA career as the third overall pick in the 1972 draft, Davis took to advocating for expanding deserving youth basketball opportunities, which have had multiple community impacts.
In appreciation of Sampson's push amidst a crowd of commemorative newspapers held up in the stands, Davis coined a phrase for fans to remember him by in homage of a Houston hip-hop trio.
"Damn, it feels good to be a Cougar," he said.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.