What Utah's Alex Jensen said after loss to Houston

Runnin' Utes head coach discussed his team's performance, learning from the loss and his admiration for Houston following Utah's 14-point loss

Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen watches play against the Houston Cougars during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Prior to Tuesday, Alex Jensen admired Kelvin Sampson and what he's done over the past decade to turn Houston into a college basketball juggernaut from afar.

After seeing the Cougars' relentlessness on the defensive end stymie his Utah team, it'd be safe to assume Jensen gained an even greater appreciation for Sampson and company following Tuesday's meeting at the Huntsman Center.

Houston spent 40 minutes smothering Utah's offense, holding the Runnin' Utes to season-lows in points (52), made field goals (20) and 3-pointers (2). With Emanuel Sharp (27 points) leading the way offensively, the Cougars were able to cruise to a 66-52 victory over Utah, handing Jensen and company their sixth consecutive loss in Big 12 play.

Here's what Jensen had to say about his team's performance, learning from the loss and his admiration for Houston during his postgame press conference.

On Houston's ball pressure

"Houston is unique in a lot of ways. It was the first game in a long time where we didn't talk mostly about defense, because offensively if you hold the ball or you over dribble, they can really make you look bad."

"You saw that when we were we ran up to the end of the shot clock. They're good. They do what they do. They don't change very much. They've got a really good team, and they make it hard for you. Like I said, our margin for error as a team is small, but especially against Houston, it's going to be that much smaller."

On using that caliber of a game as a teaching moment for players

"I've talked about that a lot this year, about our team maturing, and we talked about it for the two days leading up to it. If you dribble or hold it, they just really lock into you, and that that was kind of the message through timeouts."

"We executed plays, and we did a good job at times. But again, the maturity and that growing and getting; recognizing how they're guarding us, what works, and then continuing to doing it. We're getting better at it. But again, they expose your weaknesses. And I think you always want to win, but I think it's a good game for us as a team and individually to realize how far we need to go and what we need to work on."

On Terrence Brown's performance as of late

"I think a thing all of us are learning is, the Big 12 is a lot different than our nonconference schedule. Teams are going to hone in on him. And I'll give him credit: I think he's doing a really good job, because his default is usually go harder and faster, but I think he's doing a good job of feeling the tempo and playing off the ball and letting it come to him, rather than hunting shots."

"Again, like all of us, he's gonna continue to learn and grow. Teams are gonna take you out, and it might not be your night to score 20, but you got to do other things."

On Kelvin Sampson and Houston

"I have admired Kelvin. He started at Montana Tech. A lot of coaches nowadays don't work their way up from from that place. And I'm sure there was a lot of long, long bus rides. But he's won wherever he's gone."

"You're not trying to mimic them, but it's a great learning thing because they have a culture. He recruits a particular type of player, and I'd say like all the guys he has, he lays out expectations before they get there. And I would say all of his guys are high character guys and are part of the group. We want to do the same thing here; get those guys, and build it where it kind of attracts that type of player, too."