3 Takeaways From No. 5 Houston Cougars' Tough Loss at No. 14 Kansas
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At the 3:23 mark of the first half, the No. 5 Houston Cougars held a 27-20 lead over No. 14 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and one point sat plus-5 in turnovers.
From that point on, they were outscored 49-29 for the rest of the night, while senior guard Tre White dropped 23 points for the Jayhawks en route to handing the Cougars a 69-56 loss Monday night to leave them winless out of a three-game gauntlet against AP top-15 teams in the Big 12.
With the help of four double-figure scorers, Kansas also made coach Bill Self remain undefeated in ESPN Big Monday games at 41-0 while also avoiding a first-time feat of losing to a coach twice head-to-head.
The Cougars couldn't avoid this feat, however, as although freshman guard Kingston Flemings led with 16 points, they finished shooting just 32% on the night, dropping a third straight game for the first time since the 2016-17 season, the third under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Now, at 23-5 overall and 11-4 in Big 12 play, Houston's reign in the league is in serious jeopardy with multiple situations needing to play out soon.
To channel your frustrations while pointing out one positive from the loss, here are three key takeaways to view.
Offense, ball security are troubling trends in winless three-game stretch
Offensively, Houston became a tough watch considering that in its Saturday loss to Arizona, it went nearly 10 and a half minutes without a field goal and the final 12:56 of that game with just four makes from the floor.
Add just four points in the final seven and a half minutes of their loss to Iowa State to begin the three-game ranked stretch, and it all racks up as mostly uninspiring for the Cougars offensively after Monday night with their 32% shooting finish.
Although Houston avoided finishing with double-digit turnovers for the fourth-straight game dating back to a season-high 15 at home against Kansas State on Feb. 14, the same mark where its offense took a 180 for the rest of the game also saw six turnovers for the remainder as well, part of what led to the shooting struggle.
In all, these were troubling trends in the recent stretch that ultimately led the Cougars to pay heed.
Offense exposes lack of inside scorer
Although freshman forward Chris Cenac finished with seven of Houston's 33 rebounds and a triple towards his nine points, a part of the Cougars' offensive outlook that got exposed in its largest capacity was the lack of an inside scorer in their frontcourt.
When Houston had forward J'Wan Roberts, it had a frontcourt scorer with a 56.4% career clip from the floor in being able to execute layups and hook shots while maintaining the post.
While Cenac executes from the mid-range to the perimeter, it's mostly attributed to being a stretch scorer who can take a shot from beyond 10 feet.
So some can beg to question if the tradeoff of an inside big for a stretch big at the four is holding stride for Houston, considering offensive inefficiencies at times from junior forward Joseph Tugler, despite him having the staggering 7-foot-6 wingspan.
McCarty, Miller deliver quality board minutes off bench
Despite the loss and the end of a winless stretch, the game provided another bright spot off in a season full of ones off the bench for the Cougars.
In 21 and 17 minutes respectively, redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty and sophomore guard Mercy Miller provided a combined 12 of Houston's 33 rebounds on the night.
Although it wasn't enough towards winning the rebound battle, their early initiations into the game may have been a preview of potentially earned minutes in March considering they already played key roles in creating separation in games early in the season for the Cougars.
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.