Houston Basketball Bounces Back With Hard-Fought Win Over TCU
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Houston basketball defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 79-70 on Wednesday night, inside Schollmaier Arena, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite having several key players in foul trouble throughout the entire game, the Cougars held on to walk away with a win.
With the victory, the Cougars improve to 18-2 on the season and 6-1 in the Big 12 Conference.
Houston vs TCU Game Recap
Houston's offense once again started out hot in the first half by scoring 43 points at the break.
This is the third consecutive game where Houston has scored 40 or more points at halftime, showing improvement on the offensive side of the ball early in games.
While Houston held a comfortable 43-30 halftime lead, that margin quickly evaporated as the team started just 2-for-13 from the field to begin the second half.
The Horned Frogs worked their way within two points of the Cougars, but they ultimately came up short down the stretch.
Houston's foul trouble was a major issue in the game and a big reason why TCU was able to mount a strong comeback.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp, senior forward Kalifa Sakho and junior forward Joseph Tugler all had four fouls early in the second half.
The Cougars were also without freshman forward Chase McCarty, who injured his hand in the first half, but he returned to play later in the game.
Houston's two top scorers, freshman guard Kingston Flemings and Sharp, propelled the Cougars past TCU by combining for 48 points.
This is also the second straight game in which Houston struggled to rebound, which played a huge part in the loss to Texas Tech.
Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. carried the load on the boards for Houston, finishing the game with a season-high 14 rebounds.
Despite his effort, the Cougars only grabbed one more rebound than a small TCU squad, which is very uncharacteristic from a Kelvin Sampson team.
With Tugler in foul trouble in back-to-back games, it is clear that he is essential for the team's defense and rebounding efforts.
Tonight, he played just 10 minutes, and this was the first game in his career where he did not grab at least one rebound.
In response to all of Houston's foul trouble, senior guard Ramon Walker Jr. played an important role in helping lead Houston to victory.
He played 22 minutes and finished with six points, including a big three that got Houston's offense going late in the game.
Next up, the Cougars head back home and they will face off against Cincinatti on Saturday, Jan 31, at 11 a.m., inside TDECU Stadium.
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).