Five Takeaways From No. 10 Houston Basketball's Season-Opening Win vs La Salle
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The No. 10 Houston Cougars got their 2026-27 season started on the right note with a dominant 94-55 win over La Salle on Monday night in Fertitta Center.
Houston showcased a lot of its new strengths for this year, and here are five key takeaways from the performance.
New Kind of Scoring Strengths
The leading scorer for the Cougars was senior point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who put up 16 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. 11 of those points were scored at the free-throw line. Thomas went 11-for-14 from the line and made two field goals total.
Houston is much more of an attacking team this year and can live in the paint. The Cougars hit just five 3-pointers in the game and were 36 percent from beyond the arc. UH, in total, went 27 out of 37 from the free-throw line. That shows attacking the basket. Houston had 44 points in the paint overall compared to just 10 for La Salle.
Freshman Center Shines
The five-star and the No. 1 center prospect in the class of 2026 lived up to the billing in his first game. Arafan Diane had 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. He was five-for-nine from the field and made quite the impact in his 20 minutes off the bench. Diane moved well for his size after he lost some weight in the offseason and showed his potential.
Front Court Depth
Senior star forward Joseph Tugler has had his fair share of issues with foul trouble, and that was the case in this game as he picked up four in 16 minutes. Senior forward Delrecco Gillespie put up a balanced performance as the biggest contributor in the frontcourt with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. Gillespie was five-for-six from the field.
However, junior forward Braden East seemed like a reliable option off the bench with nine points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist. East was three out of five from the field and three out of four at the free-throw line.
Corey Hadnot Will be Key on Offense
Although starting shooting guard Mercy Miller ended up with just five points, he contributed well with seven rebounds as well as five assists. The scoring contribution came from Hadnot II off the bench, the senior transfer from Purdue Fort Wayne.
Hadnot put up 14 points and five assists in just under 22 minutes, and was six out of 10 from the field.
Opener Success
Houston has now won its last 18 season openers and 22 out of its last 23. Coach Kelvin Sampson is now 13-0 in season openers at Houston. There was some chippiness in this game given the three technical fouls in the first half, which included one on Sampson, who was clearly not pleased with the officiating.
Thomas was called for a flagrant one foul in the second half. Redshirt sophomore forward Chase McCarty went down after getting hit hard on the knee and did not return in the game in what was a scary moment for Houston.
"Whatever it is, it's not that bad," Sampson said of the injury.
Up next, Houston will travel out to Lake Tahoe to take on California on Sunday in the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic.
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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.