Houston’s Defense Stuns UCF To Remain Unbeaten At Home
In this story:
Houston basketball defeated the UCF Knights 79-55 on Wednesday night, inside the Fertitta Center, in Houston, Texas.
The Cougars defense and effort were the story of the night, and the team is looking more confident on both ends of the floor.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 20-2 on the season and 8-1 in the Big 12 Conference. Houston now prepares for a battle against BYU this Saturday, at 9:30 p.m., in Provo, Utah.
Houston vs UCF Game Recap
Coming into tonight’s matchup, coach Kelvin Sampson didn’t really know what made UCF so good this season, because he focuses on the game in front of him. That was until he was preparing for the game, and the film told the veteran coach everything he needed to know.
Sampson said that the Knights' senior guard Themus Fulks was the leader of their team, and he is a big reason why they have been so successful.
The key for Houston tonight was simply to play its brand of basketball, and the team did just that.
The Cougars were the more physical team as they ended with 11 more rebounds and forced 11 turnovers in the game.
In a five-minute span late in the first quarter, the Cougars went on a 12-0 run that had the Fertitta Center rocking.
After multiple all-out effort plays, the crowd roared in appreciation for the heart that the Cougars had shown, and the toughness they played with is how Houston plays basketball.
After completing a monster upset over the weekend against No. 11 Texas Tech, UCF’s winning streak came to an end as Houston’s defense proved to be too much to handle.
The Cougars held the Knights to just 19 points in the first half, the lowest total they had in the first half all season long.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp also did a solid job defensively, holding Fulks, UCF’s leading scorer, to just eight points on 3-for-10 shooting.
Houston’s freshman guard Kingston Flemings and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. led the charge for the Cougars offensively as the duo combined for 32 points.
Cenac’s physicality on defense was also seen, and the young center finished with 10 rebounds, two steals and a block.
Senior guard Milos Uzan had one of his best shooting games of the season, finishing with 12 points and he went 5-for-7 from the field, including two made threes.
After coming off of a seven-point performance against Cincinnati, freshman guard Mercy Miller continues to make the most of his minutes.
Tonight, he played 15 minutes, and the young guard finished with nine points and showed that his offensive ability is improving.
Overall, this win is another step in the right direction for Sampson’s team, and the Cougars’ defense is back playing at an elite level.
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).