Houston Scouting Report

Syracuse and Houston will square off in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. What should the Orange expect from the Cougars?

BEST PLAYERS

G Quentin Grimes - 6-5, 205 lbs - Grimes is an elite scorer who can hit the outside shot, finish at the rim or hurt you in the mid range as well. Grimes averages 18 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 41.7% from three point range.

G Dejon Jarreau - 6-5, 185 lbs - Jarreau does everything for Houston. He leads the team in assists at 4.1 per game. He is third in rebounding at 5.3 per game. He is also third in scoring at 10.9 points per game. Jarreau can also hit the outside shot at 36.7%.

F Justin Gorham - 6-7, 225 lbs - Gorham is Houston's best interior player. He leads the team in rebounding at 8.6 per game. He can hit the outside shot, though he does not take many threes.

G Marcus Sasser - 6-1, 190 lbs - Sasser takes the majority of his shots from beyond the arc. He takes nearly eight three-pointers per game and is shooting 32.7% from the outside. Sasser is the team's second leading scorer at over 13 points per game.

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ROTATION

Houston generally only plays two or three players off the bench. The starting lineup features three guards, all of which have tremendous length. The front court features energetic, athletic players, all of which are 6-7 or 6-8.

DEFENSE

Houston is second in the nation allowing just 57.9 points per game. Houston is number one in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to just 37.3% shooting. The Cougars rank fifth in three point percentage defense at 28.3%. This will be the best defense Syracuse has played all season statistically.

REBOUNDING

Houston is third in the country in offensive rebounds per game at 14.5. Three other Syracuse opponents were in the top five as well in North Carolina (first), Buffalo (second) and West Virginia (fifth). Houston is also sixth in the nation in rebounding margin at +9.3 per game.

SHOOTING

Houston is a good shooting team at over 44% from the floor over all and over 36% from three. Houston is also a good free throw shooting team at over 74%. The Cougars makes over eight three pointers per game.

EFFICIENCY

Houston is ranked seventh in offensive efficiency and 12th in defensive efficiency per KenPom.

TURNOVERS

Houston turns it over less than 11 times per game while forcing 14.6 opponent's turnovers. The Cougars average over eight steals per game.

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