2 Takeaways From No. 3 Houston Cougars' Win Over Kansas State
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Despite a late scare, redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp's second consecutive team-leading 20-point performance provided the bulk of the No. 3 Houston Cougars' 78-64 win over Kansas State Saturday afternoon at Fertitta Center.
When an early deficit as large as three possessions and a 3-for-17 shooting start made it appear like another day where shots just couldn't fall in, the 9:51 first-half mark and on displayed the usual recipe for late separation in taking care of the ball and winning the boards.
When mixed with a flurry of bench contributors early on, all were just enough to fend off 23 points from junior guard PJ Haggerty and a Houston lead that fell as little as 10 with over seven minutes remaining overall.
It became a near surprise from a Kansas State team that suffered one of its worst home losses of the coach Jerome Tang era just a few nights earlier, and a jolt for the Cougars before entering their most crucial three-game stretch of the season.
In the Cougars improving to 23-2 overall and staying tied for first atop the Big 12 at 11-1, the win didn't come dry of any takeaways.
Sampson's frontcourt bench continues clean-up effort
An interesting sight that came early was the deeper end of Houston's bench getting its minutes considering it had to play from behind early with its cold shooting start.
Every player that logged time logged points.
Particularly in the frontcourt, redshirt fifth-year forward Kalifa Sakho grabbed six points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting to go with six boards, raising his average to 4.2 rebounds per game across the last five games.
Surprisingly in the first half, redshirt junior center Cedric Lath posted two boards to go with a pair of made free throws at the 10:55 mark.
Sakho, Lath and redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty combined for 12 of Houston's 20 bench points in what seemed like an inverse operation in starter minutes towards the latter portion of the game.
Five days on the road contribute to slight hiccups
At the half, Houston sat with just three turnovers.
That number total became five times as high to finish the game for the Cougars despite finishing plus-2 on the margin and plus-5 on the boards, and while it might have been part of a change in game-plan approach from Tang and his players, it's easy for people to forget the five-day road trip prior to the quick tilt at home.
In a league as gritty as the Big 12, it only shows testament to how Houston may not look like its ceiling best with natural elements yet manages its consistency in the win column.
Tying back to coach Kelvin Sampson's common stressing point, it's best for fans not to overreact to the nature of the team's occurrences.
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.