Severe Weather Impacts Start Time for Houston vs. Texas Tech Matchup
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The Houston Cougars look to sweep the Texas Tech Raiders on Saturday, after winning the first matchup 69-65 at home.
However, due to a snowstorm expected to hit Saturday night, the game time has been moved up from its regularly scheduled 5:30 p.m. CT start.
The game will now be played at 1 p.m. CT, inside the United Supermarkets Arena, in Lubbock, Texas.
Houston Faces Texas Tech In College Game Day Season Debut
Saturday's battle between the two state rivals will mark the season debut of College GameDay, further adding to the anticipation of this matchup.
Fans can watch on ESPN, led by Dan Shulman on the play-by-play, Jay Bilas as the lead analyst and Stormy Buonantony as the reporter.
Since Houston joined the Big 12 Conference three seasons ago, the Cougars and the Red Raiders have quickly become one of the best rivalries in the entire country.
Houston is 3-1 in that time frame; however, Texas Tech handed them a rare home loss just last season when the Red Raiders rallied to win 82-81 in overtime.
This season, the two teams already faced off, and the Cougars put together a late run to defeat Texas Tech 69-65.
Led by freshman guard Kingston Flemings' 23 points, Houston was able to put away the Red Raiders in round one, but now, it won't be an easy task playing on the road in front of a sold-out crowd.
In last season's College Game Day matchup between Houston and Iowa State, there was much more energy and excitement than usual heading into the game, and the crowd was a big reason why the Cougars walked away with a victory.
Now, Houston has to face playing in that environment on the road, in a place seeking revenge after back-to-back losses to the Cougars.
Senior guard Milos Uzan was the hero in Lubbock last season, and his 22-point performance was enough to lead Houston to a 69-61 victory.
Houston's playmakers will have to be up to the challenge to win this game, and it starts with the veteran leaders.
While freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. and Flemings have proven they aren't your typical freshmen, this will be by far the biggest stage of the season, and Houston's leaders will have to step up in this game.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp, junior forward Joseph Tugler and Uzan have experienced it all in their time in Houston, and it is up to them to take the pressure off the other guys by setting the tone early.
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).