The Good, Bad and Ugly of No. 7 Houston Cougars’ Comfortable Win over West Virginia

The No. 7 Houston Cougars began their week with a wire-to-wire win over the West Virginia Mountaineers 77-48 on Tuesday night in the Fertitta Center to improve to 16-1 on the season.

UH was rocking their Houston blue uniforms in front of a packed weekday crowd and got their first victory in those uniforms. Houston has won their first four Big 12 games, and this was their 10th victory in a row.

Senior guard Milos Uzan had his best game of the season with 17 points and five 3-pointers.

It seemed like the dominance continued for the Cougars from Waco. Here’s the good, bad, and ugly.

Good: Taking Over with Physicality

Houston Cougars basketball — Jan 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars forward Kalifa Sakho (14) fight for a rebound against West Virginia Mountaineers forward Brenen Lorient (0) in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Houston quickly asserted their dominance in this game right from the jump with junior forward Joseph Tugler. UH went on a 10-0 run and was up 15-2 to begin the game. The Mountaineers were just terrible from the field to start, going 1/7, before senior guard Honor Huff finally got in their first 3-pointer.

WVU was on a 4-minute scoring drought and just could not find proper looks at the rim. Houston’s defense was honestly looking a bit overwhelming for the Mountaineers, who even missed some closer attempts at the rim. This was just their second road game of the season.

UH’s physicality is at a high level, and they are repeatedly winning these jump balls and scrums on the ground. It’s something Houston is known for, and they are showing why. Nobody puts their body more on the line than the Cougars.

Houston eventually got out to a dramatic 28-5 lead with just five minutes to go in the first half. The Mountaineers were limited to just 26% from the field and six total shots in the first 20 minutes, while going 1/4 from the free-throw line as well.

After West Virginia cut the lead down to 11, the Cougars put the game away. Houston went on a 19-2 run over a five-minute stretch, which was also at 17-0 over a three-minute period. Freshman guard Isiah Harwell was a key part of that alongside his fellow freshman guard, Kingston Flemings.

The Cougars have always been great at forcing turnovers, and that is a big part of their physical basketball brand. During that second-half run of five minutes, Houston forced five turnovers. It always ignites their offense. UH had four players in double digits, with senior guard Emanuel Sharp adding 13, while Tugler and Flemings each put up 10.

West Virginia could not even cross 50 total points and just put up 18 in the first half.

Bad: West Virginia Settled In From Three

It seemed like nothing was going right for the Mountaineers on offense until they started catching fire from 3-point land. While not all of them were easy shots, those starting connected for WVU. Right when that happened, it was halftime.

The Mountaineers eventually made nine 3-pointers in this game, which was more than 56% of their total score of 38 points. DJ Thomas made four 3-pointers and added 16 off the bench.

Both teams struggled in the fast break, as they each only scored two points.

Ugly: Fouling

There was a flagrant one-foul on Jasper Floyd, who made forcible contact on Harwell. He then made both his free throws and threw down an alley-oop dunk on the resulting possession. West Virginia was able to match Houston on the defensive boards and lost that battle 26-23.

Flemings had four fouls, while Huff and Eaglestaff, two starters for WVU, each picked up four as well.

Houston will get some time off before continuing their homestead against Arizona State on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.