2 Takeaways From No. 10 Houston Cougars' Blowout Win Over Cincinnati
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Behind four double-figure scorers and 19 Bearcat turnovers, the No. 10 Houston Cougars clawed out to a 76-54 blowout win in a rematch of Cincinnati Saturday afternoon at Fertitta Center.
In a similar fashion to the Jan. 3 meeting, senior guard Milos Uzan experienced a second-half spurt that helped him to a team-leading 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting, while racking up five assists, showing flashes to his similar torrid stretch towards the back half of the last regular season.
But with a commanding turnover margin finish and going plus-18 in the paint, even on a light day of assists, it still converted into a significantly larger winning margin, partly bolstered by the typical difficulty of playing at Fertitta Center.
While there wasn't a whole lot of digestion out of this rematch, here were two key takeaways from Houston completing the season sweep of its prior American conference rival, to move to 19-2 overall and 7-1 in Big 12 play.
When faced with an anchor, clean the ship
In recent matchups of the series, Houston has had to contend with the looming size of Cincinnati's frontcourt, where it has faced a proper test in the battle of the boards.
Similar to their Big 12-opening 67-60 win at Fifth Third Arena in the first matchup, the Cougars simply relied more on being clean with the ball, and it paid higher dividends.
This time it translated to finishing with a whopping plus-15 turnover margin and finishing 26-2 in points off them, leaving for a larger winning margin compared to the road stand.
All of this, even when losing the rebound battle for the first time through eight games in Big 12 play.
It also points back to one element supplementing another in an effort to add to the win column and prepare for a potentially defining six-game, three-weekend stretch from late March into April, even when the team doesn't feel the most complete.
Houston still taking climb in all-time series with Cincy
With the all-time series dating back to 1957-58 and the legacy of the Bearcats as two-time national champions, Cincinnati opened its head-to-head with Houston a commanding 33-4 through the first 37 meetings in taking advantage of peak irrelevancies from the Cougars.
But since the time of coach Mick Cronin's departure for UCLA and a transition into the Big 12 under coach Wes Miller, Houston has served payback in the form of a 14-game winning streak against Cincinnati to trim the head-to-head down to 12 games.
It speaks volumes considering Cincinnati gives Houston among one of its toughest games at home and on the road year in and year out, compared to the new opponents the Cougars face in Big 12 play.
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.