3 Takeaways From Houston Cougars' Explosive Win Over Arkansas
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The No. 8 Houston Cougars captured what might've been their best win of the season and one of the top statements in all of college basketball in an explosive 94-82 win over No. 14 Arkansas at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Saturday evening as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic.
Redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp led the way for Houston with 22 points on 6 of 13 shooting as one of four Cougars in double figures, helping it nearly match its best scoring outing from just a week earlier against New Orleans at Fertitta Center.
Those efforts effectively helped coach Kelvin Sampson capture his first win against coach John Calipari in his career, getting a win back after Houston's 62-58 loss to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on March 29, 2019.
However, beyond these feats, there was more to take away from Houston's emphatic ranked win over the Razorbacks.
Houston played like an SEC offense
In its third ranked matchup and Quad 1 opportunity against an SEC team, Houston certainly played like a high-scoring SEC offense in shooting 52 percent from the floor and 44 percent from deep.
At one point, the Cougars were on pace to score 160 points when taking a 40-19 lead at the 9:34 mark of the first half, shooting at nearly 70 percent from the floor.
Though the foot was slightly let off the gas for a bit in factoring foul trouble, Houston's efforts continued to hold firm the rest of the way, especially in a slight edge via the paint battle and second chance points while finishing at a comfortable +3 turnover margin.
The freshman point guard battle delivers
Fueling the explosiveness of the matchup was the true freshman point guard matchup between Kingston Flemings and Darius Acuff Jr., for which the two shot a combined 53.3 percent from the floor each in posting 20-point performances.
Acuff's season-high 27 points might've given him the edge on paper, Flemings' 21 points, even without a triple, heavily complemented Houston's victorious efforts in tagging along with Sharp.
It didn't help Acuff entirely that three of his four teammates in the starting five sat heavily in foul trouble throughout the game.
Nonetheless, in what was billed as the top game of the day across college basketball, this matchup in particular, in a season where freshman talent has flourished across the power conference landscape, delivered.
Cougars need Sakho back... and fast
If anything showed that Houston needs redshirt fifth year forward Kalifa Sakho back as soon as possible from the knee injury he suffered on Dec. 10, it's that the Cougars' frontcourt depth truly got tested in a flurry of foul trouble.
Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr., junior forward Joseph Tugler and redshirt junior center Cedric Lath combined for 11 personal fouls.
Tugler's four fouls, all of which came before the U-15 timeout in the second half, significantly reduced his minutes on the floor. He's now averaging 3.2 fouls committed per game.
While a 100 percent healthy redshirt sophomore center Jacob McFarland awaits down the stretch for Houston, staying out of foul trouble near the top of its frontcourt depth proves key as it nears the start of 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.