Here’s The Injury Report When Houston Meets Idaho

Basketball can be a contact sport, and sometimes that means athletes take a couple of bulldozing hits that knock them to the floor. Sometimes it is even non-contact.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson and Co. do not luckily have huge holes to fill, as there haven’t been many major injuries that have taken a toll on the unit, but there have been a few bumps in the road that have hurt them early on, as they will now be taking on the No. 15 seed Idaho.

One of the players the Cougars will be missing late Thursday night is the star center, who had surgery on his broken leg for the second time. Sophomore Jacob McFarland originally suffered the injury last October, before the rod needed to be replaced, which hurt his timetable for returning to the court.

As for the Vandals, it will be without their guard, Kristian Gonzalez, who was injured after the first game of the season after returning from an off-season injury. He appeared in only one game this season, against Washington State, where he recorded 18 points in 18 minutes, leading all scorers in that contest.

Houston Players Out

Jacob McFarland Houston Cougars. — Nov 8, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars center Jacob McFarland (13) smiles on the bench before the game against the Towson Tigers at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

For Houston, losing McFarland really hurt a team that is really dependent on its size and having someone who is reliable on defense, and he was one of those athletes who could check into the game at any time and be there for his team when he needed to be, but now he just has to sit off to the side and cheer on his team instead.

In his short stint with the program, he had made a big impact on and off the court, and all of his teammates wished he could help run it back and get back to the Final Four after falling just short in the National Title Game against the Florida Gators.

McFarland was a center entering his sophomore season and was a native of Moreno Valley, California. He is one of the tallest players on the court, listed at 6-foot-11, and has the potential to bring the Cougars to the next level with the intensity and grit he brings. Over the season, he recorded only three rebounds and played 3.3 minutes against Colorado, New Orleans, and Jackson State.

Another player out for Houston is guard Kordel Jefferson, who appeared in only three games this season with an average of 3.7 minutes. In his little work on the floor, he showed he could contribute as a player listed at 6-foot-3. The three games he appeared in were Notre Dame, Oakland, and Lehigh. The only points he recorded this season came against Oakland, when he posted four points on 2 of 5 shooting.

Barring any issues before tipoff, that is what the injury looks like before the game begins at 9:10 p.m. on truTV.