3 Takeaways From No. 2 Houston's Crushing Season-Ending Loss to No. 3 Illinois
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HOUSTON-- One. Bad. Night.
In an unfortunate tale as old as time for No. 2-seed Houston men's basketball, and the case for any team in the NCAA tournament, that's all it takes for a season to end when the ball just doesn't fall in.
That bad night came from 34% shooting, mixed with staggering negative finishes in the paint and on the boards, for the Cougars' path to championship redemption to be cut short amidst home crowd support in a 65-55 loss to No. 3 Illinois in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 at Toyota Center.
The only double-figure performances that sufficed out of a poor shooting night came from two members of its departing backcourt in redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp and freshman guard Kingston Flemings. While the two shot a combined 11-for-26, the rest of the team shot 11-for-38.
The loss also left an all-too-familiar sight of limited success in the South region in the state of Texas for the Cougars, considering that all sweeps in the second weekend came out of the Midwest.
In all, it leaves a variety of questions to be answered on the status of players returning, declaring, and what both Houston's offensive and defensive outlook will hail through the offseason.
With the Cougars finishing 30-7 overall in their third season in the Big 12, here are three takeaways, including a set of program goodbyes to look back on.
Houston's task proved tall on boards
Houston already faced a tall task entering its first home NCAA tournament game since 1983, in facing an Illinois squad rated 10th in Division I in rebounds at 41 per game, while holding a plus-10 margin.
The offensive portion of that average? 13.35.
Considering the Cougars grabbed 19 offensive boards in their prior outing to be able to get into this position, the chances seemed balanced for them to stay toe-to-toe with that prowess.
But in facing exactly what it prepared for, Houston only amounted to that preparation towards finishing negative on both ends, also negating freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr.'s team-leading 10 rebounds, his 14th double-digit performance of the season.
And in helping fuel that separation on the boards from one of the tallest teams in Division I, there were a pair of double-doubles from Illinois' own freshman talents in forward David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler.
Paint or get painted
Another attribute from Illinois' sizing was its ability to largely own the paint over Houston, for which it once held a plus-10 advantage midway through the second half on that margin.
Of all of Houston's 64 attempts from the floor, there were only six layup attempts compared to 15 attempts from Illinois.
In total, Houston let up 24 points in the paint from the Illini while not being able to execute its mid-range shots, and only executing four layups in total. It's just another offensive element that one team in March can ill-afford to have in hopes of still dancing.
Somber goodbyes between Houston's point guards
The loss signaled somber ends to multiple Cougar careers, particularly for the backcourt around Sharp, senior guard Milos Uzan, and for a projected top-five NBA draft pick in Flemings.
But between Uzan and Flemings, both sharing their roles as point guards, came a long way beyond how the season progressed. In turn, both learned a lot about their own camaraderie to where it naturally morphed into brotherhood, and the family culture brought out of coach Kelvin Sampson's program.
"I've learned a lot about Kingston," Uzan said. "From day one, I was just able to pick his brain a lot. He sees the game differently, his IQ is at a high level, and I'm just grateful for him. He helped me a lot this year."
While Flemings' presence helped Uzan space out the floor, the same can be said the other way around towards the freshman guard's integration.
"He just tried to integrate me into the team and get me better day by day," Flemings said. "It helped a lot."
And in a similar stride to how Uzan finished last season, Flemings bolstered his cleanliness with the ball as a point guard in finishing with a 2.85 assist-to-turnover ratio, already impressive enough for a freshman.
While both their seasons ended in an NBA arena, one can fathom the two crossing paths in a similar setting in the next steps of their careers. Though an emotional end to their collegiate careers, the doors are always open for family reunions in Sampson's eyes.
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.