No. 10 Houston Cougars Continue Home Dominance, Take Care of Cincinnati
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The No. 10 Houston Cougars completely dominated in the second half after a slow start and comfortably beat Cincinnati 76-54 at home in Fertitta Center on Saturday afternoon. This was the 16th straight win at home for UH.
Houston improved to 19-2 on the season and 7-1 in the Big 12. Meanwhile, Cincinnati dropped to 13-8 and 3-6 in the conference. The Bearcats have still not won on the road. Houston has now won 14 straight games against Cincinnati.
The Cougars shot 46% overall from the field, but the most important stat was the turnovers. Houston forced 19 turnovers and got a whopping 26 points off them. Compare that to just four total team turnovers for UH, and the Bearcats only got 2 points off of them.
The leading scorer was senior point guard Milos Uzan with 16 points, 14 of them in the second half. Houston had three players score 13 points, led by freshman stretch big Chris Cenac Jr., as well as senior guard Emanuel Sharp. Freshman guard Isiah Harwell had the best Big 12 game with 13 as well.
Houston did get out rebounded 25-29, but the Cougars still wound up with more second-chance points. Cincinnati was dealing with some injuries, and sophomore center Moustapha Thiam only played the first 12 minutes. That played a big role.
Houston vs Cincinnati Game Recap
Houston got out to a slow start offensively and just scored one point off a Kingston Flemings free throw through almost the first four minutes. However, the offensive rebounding was the key for the offense to wake up.
The first offensive rebound of the game set up freshman big man Chris Cenac Jr. for a wide-open dunk and UH’s first field goal. On the next possession, Sharp hit a second-chance 3-pointer, and the Cougars offense came alive.
Flemings and Cenac Jr. have shown their freshman connection, and the point guard found his stretch big for the alley-oop dunk.
Cincinnati continued to hang around by playing strong defense and being formidable in rebounding. Thomas hit a 3-pointer, and it was a three-point game at 16-13 with 7:29 left in the first half.
Sharp kept getting to his spots and knocking it down. He’s been the most consistent offense so far. Cenac Jr. hit back-to-back big 3-pointers, and the lead grew to 24-13. The New Orleans native is a good outside shooter, and it’s on full display. Cenac Jr. is just on fire from beyond the arc, and he made another triple as Houston got in the driver’s seat.
Sophomore guard Mercy Miller got some playing time with the injury to redshirt freshman Chase McCarty, and he quickly chipped in five points. He put up seven total. Junior forward Joseph Tugler made a block, and Sampson was visibly pleased on the sideline.
The Cougars maintained their double-digit lead into the half, as Houston led 32-20. Cenac Jr. was the leading scorer through the first 20 minutes with 13 points, while Sharp added seven. UH’s defense limited Cincinnati to 28% from the field, but Houston was getting outrebounded 19-18 at the half. The Bearcats failed to make a field goal in the last two minutes.
Senior point guard Milos Uzan knocked down a 3-pointer right after the halftime break, and a good sign for Houston was Tugler working on the offensive end.
Houston broke this game open early in the second half thanks to Sharp making it happen inside the paint and getting to the line. The Cougars led by 20 at one point thanks to Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller calling for a technical. Harwell hit a 3-pointer of his own. Houston was on a 13-3 run around the halfway point of the second half.
UH’s defense was on point, as Cincinnati went on an over five-minute scoring drought and turned it over six times in the last seven minutes. Houston went on a 10-0 run over that five-minute stretch, led by Harwell, who attacked the basket. UH led by 27 points at this point, 60-33.
Even with the game in hand, the physicality and fight never stopped on this team. The Cougars gave up just two points to Cincinnati’s leading scorer, senior forward Baba Miller.
Up next, Houston will stay at home to take on a strong UCF team on Wednesday night.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.