3 Takeaways From No. 10 Houston Cougars' Grit-Filled Win at TCU
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In dodging a plague of recurring foul trouble from their previous game, and backed behind freshman guard Kingston Flemings' eighth 20-point performance of the season, the No. 10 Houston Cougars grabbed a late 79-70 win over TCU at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday evening, and avoided history repeating itself.
With just under 12 minutes to play, three Cougars each stood with four personal fouls. With 8:24 remaining, TCU entered the double bonus.
Neither were welcoming sights for Houston, considering that limited minutes in its starting frontcourt mixed with a lack of guard rebounding accounted for its 90-86 loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 24 on the first leg of its weather-challenged interstate trip.
But with Flemings and redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp combining for 50 points and 14 of the Cougars' 22 made free throws, along with comebacks in the rebound and turnover battles, it put Houston back in the win column and out to 18-2 overall and a 6-1 start in Big 12 play.
Here are three key things to take away from the bounce-back effort for Houston.
Three years. 40 Big 12 wins.
On Jan. 13, 2024, with a 68-67 loss to the Horned Frogs at Schollmaier Arena, Houston fell to 1-2 through just three Big 12 games in its program history in suffering back-to-back league road losses.
746 days, two seasons, and three combined conference championships later, coach Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars collected their 40th Big 12 regular season win as a result of avoiding history repeating itself in the same setting, considering how tough a win at the Railyard is generally tough to come by.
It also shows how much Houston's growth has shown through its tenure in the league in being able to hurdle past obstacles like the foul trouble presented on Wednesday, or an opponent's response with a run.
Though Sampson has acknowledged time and again that Houston was due for some more league losses eventually, it's hard to shy away from the .889 winning percentage through 45 Big 12 games, only part of what has made it a perennial national championship contender.
Cenac's best minutes?
Considering freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. was part of the flurry of Houston's frontcourt foul trouble from its Saturday loss in Lubbock, he recorded his most clean and efficient first half of Big 12 play and potentially the season by far in cashing his eighth 10-rebound game alone in the frame along with an early seven points.
By the end of the night, he finished with 14 boards, helping Houston come from behind in the rebound battle against the small Horned Frogs lineup. It all came while a being a field goal away from clinching his fourth double-double on the season, having only committed a foul in each half.
It was a tremendous step-up for Cenac considering that junior forward Joseph Tugler had logged just 10 minutes and no tallies from any plus category as a result of recurring foul trouble and at times, being afraid to foul as a result.
Houston comes back in the turnover battle
In the first 10 minutes of the game, ball security looked bleak for the Cougars and threatened to be an early factor for upset-minded TCU to complete the feat. Houston's margin in the turnover battle was as high as minus-5 on seven turnovers.
Compared to eight first-half turnovers, with a margin trimmed down to minus-1, the Cougars managed to squeak by with a plus-1 finish by the end of the night to remain perfect in the turnover battle through seven Big 12 games.
It only proves that Houston always stands to correct a flurry of trouble with the handles and take you by surprise even at your best.
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.