Film Study: Why Houston Will Beat Texas A&M In The NCAA Tournament
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The Houston Cougars are coming off a dominant Round of 64 performance, defeating the Idaho Vandals 78-47 on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
Now, the Cougars will take on the Texas A&M in a rematch of when Houston defeated the Aggies 100-95 in the Round of 32 in 2024.
Houston and Texas A&M will clash in Oklahoma City on Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m. with a trip to the Sweet 16 in Houston on the line.
3 Advantages Houston Has Over Texas A&M
Houston’s Discipline Will Be A Problem For The Aggies
In Texas A&M’s head coach Bucky McMillian’s first season with the Aggies, it has been an up-and-down season, and the team’s key to winning is to force their opponents to make mistakes.
The primary way the Aggies do this is by applying a full-court press to either force the opposition to turn the ball over or to limit the amount of time that they have to run a half-court offense.
Unfortunately for Texas A&M, Houston commits the fewest turnovers in the entire country, and it is very difficult to speed up the Cougars offensively.
Teams have tried a variety of pressures on Houston, but the duo of senior guard Milos Uzan and freshman guard Kingston Flemings are very good at taking care of the ball and breaking presses.
With Flemings’ elite passing and speed and Uzan’s experience in the tournament and high basketball IQ, it will be a tall task to disrupt a disciplined Houston squad.
Rebounding
The Cougars thrive on second-chance points, and their recipe for success starts on the offensive boards.
Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. and junior forward Joseph Tugler are the main problems for opposing defenses in the rebounding category, and the duo has mastered tipping missed shots back out to the guards.
Senior forward Kalifa Sakho also is a threat off the bench, and he and Cenac both stand at 6-foot-11, posing a real problem on the boards.
Why this is such an issue for the Aggies is that they thrive running a small lineup, with their tallest starter standing at 6-foot-7.
To have a chance keeping up with Houston, rebounding must be a top priority. In response, the Aggies will be forced to play sophomore forward Jamie Vinson and senior forward Zach Clemence off the bench more than normal to slow down the Cougars’ bigs.
Overall Experience
With the Aggies having a few players with limited tournament experience, senior forward Rashaun Agee, senior guards Pop Issacs and Rylan Griffin, the team has been together for a very limited time, and this is their first time playing in a game with these stakes.
They also only have one returner from last year who plays significant minutes in sophomore guard Rubén Domínguez.
Houston is the exact opposite. While they do have two freshman in Flemings and Cenac, they have a strong core of players who experienced last season’s NCAA Championship run.
Uzan, Tugler and senior guard Emanuel Sharp are Houston’s core leaders, and they have just about as much experience as any players could have.
Houston has seven players on the roster who have contributed to or experienced last season’s Tournament run, and this is important because they have been here before.
With Houston having a full roster of returners with experience, and two freshmen who are not your average first-year players, the Cougars have a loaded roster that will pose the biggest challenge that the Aggies have had all season.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).