3 Takeaways From No. 8 Houston Cougars' Dominant Win Over UCF
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It took overcoming a cold start from the floor, but a premier defensive stand cashed into offense and three double-figure scorers for the No. 8 Houston Cougars, who cruised to a 79-55 blowout win over UCF Wednesday night at Fertitta Center to close a two-game homestand.
Along with freshman guard Kingston Flemings' 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, with 10 of his points coming in the first 12 minutes, a bevy of contributors including redshirt fifth year forward Kalifa Sakho's season-high seven points to pair with seven rebounds, and helped Houston's slow offensive start heat back to just above room temperature.
In staving off upset-minded UCF by winning the boards, turnovers and paint, Houston clinched its 11th straight 20-win season under coach Kelvin Sampson and its 11th straight head-to-head win over the Knights dating back to Jan. 3, 2020.
With the Cougars moving to 8-1 in Big 12 play, here are three things to take away from the midweek win including familiar double-double performance.
Cenac clinches fourth double-double
In continuing to show his capabilities of being both a key perimeter player while grabbing just over nine boards a game, freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. clinched his fourth career double-double with 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting and 10 rebounds, leaving for his second accomplished feat in Big 12 play and his ninth 10-rebound performance overall.
Although Cenac finished 0-for-4 from beyond the arc as part of the Cougars' 3-point shooting woes, he and Sakho combined for 17 of Houston's 40 rebounds to finish at a plus-11 margin on the glass in creating extra possessions to convert inside the perimeter, where it finished the night dominating UCF 42-14 in the paint.
Second half shooting makes near-full turnaround
For well within the game's first 15 minutes, shots just couldn't fall for Houston in which a 3-for-6 start stretched out to 7-for-23 without a make from deep.
But an 8-for-11 shooting stretch for the Cougars over the last 6:29 of the first half only became the template for a complete 180 in the second.
A perfect 9-for-9 second-half start and an eventual 14-for-17 start helped give Houston its largest lead of the night at 75-41 with 3:27 remaining in the game, and in finishing with just five turnovers on the night with a plus-6 margin, it supplemented the recipe of creating separation in games where even a team's worst offensive night lies.
Triples take a near-off night
While Houston overcame the slow start from the floor in finishing at 55% shooting on the night, the Cougars nearly took a night off in 3-point shooting, which began with a shutout 0-for-10 first half.
The start ballooned out to 0-for-13 into the second half before senior guard Milos Uzan drained a left-corner triple with 11:45 remaining.
While it's a rare night where good looks from deep just don't fall in by happenstance, Uzan wound up finishing with two of Houston's three made triples on the night as part another second-half scoring surge, in which he posted 10 points on a 4-for-4 shooting in the frame.
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.