The Good, Bad and Ugly of Houston Cougars' Win Over Florida State
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After a 10-day break from their 2-1 trip to the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, the No. 8 Houston Cougars began the new homestand on a bright note with an 82-67 win over the Florida State Seminoles Saturday in the Houston Hoops Showdown at Toyota Center downtown.
Though it wasn't the prettiest of display as there were some lost possessions that carried over from the trip, the scale of consistency on the floor was by far better, as scoring droughts lasted no more than two and a half minutes on average.
Nonetheless, three Cougars posted double-figure scoring while fending off Florida State's sleeper defense, which gave them fits early on. They were led by redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp's season-high 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting, while the star-studded freshman class of guard Kingston Flemings and forward Chris Cenac Jr. posted eight steals and a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, respectively.
There were plenty of things to digest from the Cougars' return to action in another power program matchup, so let's break it down into the good, bad and ugly.
The Good: Sharp's triples, Flemings' steals carry Cougars
Not even a 10-day break could give Sharp or Flemings an off night on the floor, as they continued torrid or improved stretches out of the break.
Sharp's 27 points were largely fueled by a 50% shooting clip from deep at 6 of 12, which can only mean good signs as league play is quickly approaching en route to completing a revenge campaign.
Meanwhile, in the midst of Flemings' 21-point outing, for which he began 3-for-3 from deep, he posted eight steals in staying on double-double watch, which were tied for second in single-game program history for Houston behind Clyde Drexler's 11.
It only sets the case for Flemings to contend for a finalist spot for the Big 12 Freshman of the Year award in further showcasing his ability to create plays and not give up on chasing down a basketball, whether its his fast break opportunities at halfcourt or stripping away at the point.
The Bad: Lost possessions carried over some from Players Era
When Houston had a stretch of nearly eight minutes without a make from the floor on Nov. 24 against Tennessee in the Players Era tournament, there was no doubt that the Cougars eventually needed the upcoming break to work on shot selection and avoid being flustered in allowing large runs from minor defensive holes.
Today however, it was significantly limited with the longest scoring drought lasting at just over two and a half minutes, though this was slightly marred when the Cougars finished the night with a -2 rebounding margin, marking the second time Houston was out-rebounded this season.
Though bad, it may only be signs of slowness from the 10-day gap in between games, which shouldn't be too alarming in being able to consistently win the rebounding battle.
The Ugly: Repeated errant passes
Despite winning the turnover battle with a +6 margin, there were multiple instances in which creating a possession off a rebound or a tipped pass quickly got dashed with an errant pass out of bounds, where the receiver was way off the mark.
Though some of this is attributed to jitters from the break, it's things like these that must be improved on and corrected ahead of league play, though based on the trajectory of last season, it's not wild to predict that a corner will be turned on that mark.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.