No. 5 Houston Blown Out by No. 14 Kansas in Third Consecutive Loss
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Houston basketball got a taste of why Allen Fieldhouse is one of the hardest places to win in the entire country, suffering a blowout 69-56 loss on Monday night.
This is the first time since 2017 that the Cougars have lost three straight games, and there are a lot of question marks with this team going forward.
Next up, Houston will look to get back on track this Saturday at 11 a.m., where the Cougars will face the Colorado Buffaloes inside the Fertitta Center.
Houston vs Kansas Game Recap
Things were rolling early on for the Cougars as they jumped out to a seven-point lead, but that didn’t last long as Kansas jumped back out in from at halftime, leading 31-27.
The second half was the same story for Houston, as the team went over five minutes without a made shot, and they had no rhythm on offense.
The Cougars have lost the two previous game because of these long offensive droughts, and tonight was no different.
Kansas jumped out to a 20 point lead while Houston couldn’t score a bucket, which is the Cougars largest deficit of the entire season.
The Jayhawks’ senior guard Tre White was the difference in this game, and his 23 points was enough to lead his team to a commanding victory over Houston.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings was the only bright spot for the starters, and he ended the game with 16 points.
He has also become Houston’s all-time freshman scoring leader, showing how much of an impact he has on this team.
Sophomore guard Mercy Miller showed promising signs as he made an impact off the bench by finishing with nine points and five rebounds.
The key for the Cougars in these big games is for their veteran leaders need to step up and take over the game, and that did not happen.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp continued his shooting struggles with a 1-for-10 shooting performance, which cannot happen for Houston to be successful.
Senior guard Milos Uzan also didn’t have much of an impact as he finished with just seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler is the next veteran that can really make an impact, and he just did not influence the game on defense like he normally does.
Overall, Houston is now on a three game losing streak, and the weaknesses on both sides of the ball are clear.
For the Cougars to be able to compete for a National Title again this season, they need to get back to playing Houston’s hard nose style of defense, and they need to eliminate the offensive scoring droughts.
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).